Credit and blame

Re “California bond rating now lowest of any state,” Feb. 4

Standard & Poor’s lowering its credit rating for California has certainly brought home the fallacy that we can borrow our way to the things we need without raising taxes.

Of course, we have to pay back the bonds with interest. Who are we kidding? Paying principal and interest is paying with our tax dollars.

When does the Legislature start to do its work? When does it take on the hard decisions? When we stop voting for bond issues, that’s when.

And don’t you just wish Standard & Poor’s had been as cautious with its ratings for mortgage-backed securities and credit default swaps?

Carol Marshall

Anaheim