Obama lashes out at rating agencies and reassures US recovery

The United States president Barack Obama reacted to decision to downgrade the country carried out by the Standard & Poor's rating agency and warned by Moody’s, but reassured the country is on the road to recovery in a televised White House statement today.

"We don’t need a rating an agency to tell us we need balance. All of this is a legitimate source of concerns, but our problems are solvable,” stressed Obama referring to the S&P´s US downgrading from an AAA country to a AA+. “No matter of what some agency rates the country, we will always be a triple A country,” the head of state lashed out.

Obama also blamed a downgrade in the United States' credit rating on political gridlock in Washington and said he would offer some recommendations on how to reduce federal deficits soon. “Our challenge is to tackle our debt over the long term,” he said. Obama affirmed tax reform and other modest adjustments will change the debt panorama in the country.

The head of the state said he would offer his own recommendations for fixing the problem and cited again the need to raise taxes on wealthier Americans and make modest adjustments to popular but expensive entitlement programs.

A congressional committee, to be formed under the legislation passed last week that averted a government default, is to report its recommendations in late November on how to cut $1.5 trillion in spending over a decade.

Obama also called the debt crisis the worse “recession in our lifetime” and said there are “factors we can’t control.” And referred as this being the worse financial crisis since the 1930’s, but was optimistic. “What set us apart is we have the capacity to act,” he remarked.

The United States president reacted to decision to downgrade the country carried out by the Standard & Poor's rating agency and warned by Moody’s, but reassured the country is on the road to recovery in a televised White House statement today.