“Municipal Bond Rating Reform: Protect Taxpayers, End the Double Standard” is our site of the day

California Treasurer Bill Lockyer has started a web site last week, “Municipal Bond Rating Reform: Protect Taxpayers, End the Double Standard” to help with a national campaign he is leading to change the way that Standard & Poor, Moody’s, and Fitch rate state and municipal bonds. As treasurer of California, the largest issuer of these bonds, there are billions of dollars at stake.

This is a very important issue to California taxpayers as with higher ratings, the interest rate paid on bonds by state and local governments is lower. Even though states, cities, counties, and other governmental entities almost never default on bonds they sell to finance schools, roads, flood protection, and other infrastructure and these rating firms own data show they issue less debt than corporations and default less often, they (we) end up paying a higher rate of interest because of these ratings.

Check this site out today because the deadline for submitting comments to Moody’s on ratings of tax exempt bonds by states and localities is tomorrow.

You will be able to follow developments, news articles, read up on this issue, and take action to protect the public fisc.