Credit rating

Adrian O'Connell | Dec 16, 2020

The American Fitch credit rating agency's recent downgrading of Canada's credit rating was sadly predictable given the incompetent track record and history of this privately owned company (part of the Hearst media empire), and Canadians would do well to ignore the political posturings which invariably inform its frequently absurd pronouncements, as well as those of its fellow Wall Street lackeys, Moody's and Standard & Poor's.

The latest piece of nonsense to emanate from this company (which, more appropriately, could be characterised as an item of "Fitch-on" - the aforesaid being the antonym of nonfiction), was entirely predictable given the recent decision by the Canadian government to bail out corporations, small businesses and individuals during the Covid pandemic rather than follow Fitch's social Darwinist preference for letting people starve to death as exemplified by our southern neighbours.

Canadians are currently blessed, in that at present, we're extremely fortunate to have a federal government, despite its many faults, whose ministers, exemplified particularly by the Deputy Prime Minister, have too much wisdom and expertise to buy into the 'balancing the books' nonsense flowing from institutions like Fitch!

One thing for sure is that as we emerge from this crisis, we will be subjected to a growing cacophony of raucous calls for a return to austerity. This will be accompanied by moralizing platitudes about personal responsibility, restraint, fiscal rectitude, accountability, and a mythological and fallacious concern about burdening our grandchildren with debt, etc., etc....

And no doubt Fitch and their paymasters will still be pursuing their erstwhile activities, such as doling out triple A ratings to shady enterprises - as they did in the lead up to the 2008 recession - while simultaneously attempting to subvert and discredit elected democratic governments the world over, who are intent upon improving the health, education, living standards and security of their citizens.

Adrian O'Connell