Downgrade The Decline

Newsalert reports that S&P has downgraded California’s debt; they link to a Bloomberg article that notes:

California’s credit rating on $64 billion of general obligation bonds was cut by Standard & Poor’s today as the most-populous U.S. state faces renewed strains over how to close a $20 billion budget deficit.

Gabriel Petek, a San Francisco-based analyst who monitors the state for Standard & Poor’s, said the rating was lowered one level, to A- from A. He said the company has a negative outlook on California debt, a sign that its standing could decline further. The rating on other securities tied to the state, including bonds backed by leases, was reduced as well, he said.

No wonder Sacramento has a sudden taste for the stickiest of the icky to calm the pain.