Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Have Budget Deficits? Just Sue Somebody

Connecticut is suing the big rating agencies:

Connecticut's attorney general sued Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's over ratings the agencies issued on risky investments.

In the civil lawsuit filed Wednesday, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal alleged Moody's and S&P knowingly assigned false ratings to complex investments that pushed the country into recession.


I'm not sure whether they have standing to pursue a class action on behalf of states whose pension plans bought toxic assets.  Connecticut is having budget woes of its own, so this suit is certainly a novel way to try to close the deficit.  Maybe I could take a page out of this playbook and sue some previous employers who promised me I'd be earning beaucoup bucks by now.