Yet another of those obscure yet all-powerful "credit rating agencies" has emerged from its – fortress of solitude? stately manor? lair? – to downgrade New Jersey.
Fitch (note: not as in Abercrombie &) Ratings on Wednesday declared/decreed/deflated the state's general obligation (GO) bonds from AA to AA-.
In English, this means the answer to "is New Jersey a good investment" is now "not so much."
GO bonds finance everything from construction of public facilities to hazardous waste cleanups, and are backed by state revenues; Fitch cited the "structurally imbalanced" state budget and in particular the pressure unfunded pension liabilities will exert on future budgets.
Given the unabashed glee with which some of President Obama's Republican critics have seized upon the Standard & Poor rating agency's recent U.S. credit downgrade, it's perhaps understandable the ever-quotable Chris Christie chose to defer comment about Fitch to his treasury department.
The Garden State downgrade couldn't have arrived at a worse time for the governor's Campaign to Continue Fueling Speculation Chris Christie Will Run for President in 2012, coming as it did on a day when a Twitterverse buzz balloon about the Big Guy's supposed preparations to enter the race exploded and fell back to earth.
Now that's a downgrade.