Michael Hiltzik: Column: A big credit rating agency just downgraded the US. Should you worry?

You may already have gotten bored with the incessant chatter in Washington and in the news about the decision by the credit rating agency Fitch to downgrade U.S. government securities.

If so, you're not alone. The stock and bond markets are also bored. The evidence is their almost invisible reaction to Fitch's Aug. 1 announcement. The interest rates on U.S. securities have barely budged, and the stock market hasn't moved more than one might expect, since strong run-ups in prices, such as that in stock prices since the beginning of the year, normally pause at some point to let off steam.

For many economists and investors, Fitch's downgrade reflects more poorly on Fitch than on the United States. Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers (not an unalloyed fan of the Biden administration), called the downgrade Current Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen asserts that it's since most of the