AA+ credit rating.

If you follow the economy, or have taken notice the stock market has lost a substantial amount of value over the past week, you likely know the U.S. was downgraded by Standard & Poor’s credit rating from AAA to AA+. In other words, we have lost part of our sterling image.

Or have we?

My daughter came home last night from more than 40 days of living in Rwanda; if you know anything about the country, it’s located in the Northeastern part of Africa.  You will quickly learn when you are there that we have it very good here in the U.S. More important, from an investment standpoint, there is no other country like the one we live in that has the standard of living, the technologically savvy mind, like we have. Sure there are other countries that do not have the financial problems we have at this time, but I assure you, even though they may not like us at times, they love what we bring to their culture, lives, and world. They just don’t always realize it.

If you follow the stock market, you know we have really taken it hard. But there is a plus side…so has oil. So if you can ward off the concern of losing a ton in the market, gas prices should be going down soon. Not enough of course and certainly not as fast as they go up, but still downward. I will feel better when I fill up. Sort of.

Back to my daughter. Now, I am not making this up so I don’t want you to think I am---but she said “I am a changed person when it comes to wasting electricity and water.” She said there were times when they carried their own water and bathed with a bucket. The Kohler toilet? That was a hole in the ground. Makes you appreciate a lousy gas station doesn’t it?

So give us the AA+ credit rating, we will demonstrate our ability to rise up from a low point in our history and assure the rest of the world that we have the strongest economy, the most vibrant look to the future, and what it takes to bring new technology and a better life to the rest of the world. So to the other 16 countries which hold a AAA rating---hold the elevator, we’re going to be back on soon.

The photo above is what America stands for…”Liberty.” We have always looked to the future, not away from it; frankly, I think we have learned again how we need to be the ones to lead and not be lead. We will be back where we belong soon---for now, it looks like we didn’t get straight A’s this semester---but no one likes a bragger any way!

Thanks for stopping by.