Financial ironies for your consideration

Isn't it ironic that those folks who were able to accumulate a little nest egg by being responsible and living within (or even below) their means received a “haircut” in the past few weeks, primarily because our elected officials in Washington failed to act as responsible adults during the debt-ceiling negotiations?

These same responsible folks received a second haircut when the vaunted Standard & Poor's rating agency downgraded U.S. debt. These are the same rating agencies who assigned top ratings to those securities investments backed by toxic subprime mortgages a few years ago.

Isn't it ironic that the companies issuing these financial investments pay the rating agencies to do the analysis that results in their ratings and governments do not solicit or pay credit agencies for their ratings?

And finally, isn't it ironic that the fate of the nation's two social programs in the deepest financial trouble (Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid) will be determined by those with absolutely no skin in the game because they authored and approved their own elite/privileged plans?

Bill Kuennen

Cedar Rapids