IT WAS disappointing to see Jeff Jacoby misinterpret the Standard & Poor’s downgrade of US Treasury bonds in his Aug. 14 column “Tea Party sounds a needed alarm.’’ It’s technically true that the S&P didn’t “call for’’ new revenue; it was careful to state that it is a rating agency with no wish to try to legislate. However, like everybody but the right, the agency is aware that the rules of arithmetic are unforgiving. As such, there is no plausible way out without new revenue. That’s why the S&P downgrade specifically called out the GOP with this statement: “We have changed our assumption on this because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues, a position we believe Congress reinforced by passing the act.’’ In its 14 references to revenues, S&P found numerous ways to say that, while it’s not its job to tell us to raise taxes, we will not get out of our mess any other way that it can see.
Ron Evett
Holliston 
