The US just lost its shiny triple-A credit rating. Moody’s dropped the hammer, knocking the rating from Aaa to Aa1. Yep, the last big agency to hold onto the crown finally blinked.
Why? Debt is ballooning faster than your favorite viral TikTok dance craze. According to Moody’s, Uncle Sam’s debt could hit 134% of GDP by 2035. That’s some serious IOU action.
Interest payments on that debt are now bigger than the defense budget. Talk about priorities! Plus, the federal deficit was 6.4% of GDP last year and is set to climb even higher.
Political gridlock didn’t help either. Moody’s called out both parties for not getting their fiscal act together. No surprise there — it’s like watching a never-ending reality show, but with trillion-dollar stakes.
But hold up — Moody’s isn’t hitting the panic button just yet. The US still has the world’s reserve currency and a stable economic outlook. So no doomsday scenarios… yet.
Market watchers are eyeing the impact. Higher borrowing costs might be on the horizon. As Barron’s puts it, the downgrade means Uncle Sam might have to pay more to borrow. Ouch.
President Trump’s team slammed Moody’s, blaming past administrations. Meanwhile, some lawmakers worry that extending 2017 tax cuts could make things worse. Political drama, anyone?
Bottom line? The US credit rating downgrade is a reality check. No fireworks, no wild guessing, just facts: debt’s rising, politics are messy, and Moody’s has officially said, “We’re watching.”