I thought the same thing.
There is something going on behind the scenes, and I can't quite figure out what it is.
I can speculate all day long, but the facts point to one conclusion: Obama has been told (by someone) that our complete economic collapse is even closer than previously thought.
The downgrade means that interest payments on the debt are going to increase by a large portion (how large?), and that will eat up even more of the pie.
Even if Defense is literally gutted, Federal workers pay frozen for 5 years and slashed, and active military retirement promises reneged on - that will still do nothing to stop the hemorrhaging.
Entitlements (including all welfare and unemployment programs) are destroying our nation at an exponential rate.
I think the upcoming economic crash is inevitable. Better to get thru it now than later because a majority of Baby Boomers are still working right now. However, they’ll probably not be able to receive all the benefits they were promised.