The Man who brought the US down
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The US treasury bond has been perhaps the most resilient feature of the American economy, surviving the great depression and three subsequent wars without losing its AAA credit rating.
The man who changed all that and infuriated many Americans in the process was one John Chambers, the chairman of S&P's sovereign rating committee.
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Image: John Chambers, chairman, Standard and Poor's sovereign rating committee.
The Man who brought the US down
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The Republican far right had humiliated President Obama into accepting a deficit deal that, while raising the debt ceiling, forced the President into accepting deep spending cuts.
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Image: Rating agency Standard and Poor's downgraded the US economy.
The Man who brought the US down
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Moreover, it embittered and poisoned an already noxious political climate on Capitol Hill.
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Image: The move poisoned the political climate at Capitol Hill.
The Man who brought the US down
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"Our decision was motivated by two things," said a poker faced Chambers.
"Increasing political polarisation which we think is going to impede the ability of policy makers to act proactively to get our public finances in order.
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Image: Chambers blames the political impasse for the downgrade.
The Man who brought the US down
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Chambers said that in S&P's ratings horizon, the ratio of debt to GDP would continue to rise.
The Obama Office said in response that Chambers and his organisation had erred by $2 trillion in their calculations and said that it was hasty in its decision making, eroding the integrity of S&P.
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Image: Barack Obama says the agency miscalculated the figures.
The Man who brought the US down
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Many view its stamping of worthless mortgage derivatives with a AAA rating - which sunk the world economy - as 'criminally negligent' behaviour.
For a man who crunched numbers for a living, Chambers' background suggests that he would be more at home at a publishing company or a literary journal than the rarefied atmosphere of the ratings world.
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Image: This is not the first time that Standard and Poor's has come under fire.
The Man who brought the US down
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He then went on to do a Master's in English Literature at Columbia University.
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Image: Chambers studied at Grinell College in Iowa.
The Man who brought the US down
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After working five years in various roles as sous directeur, assistant comptroller, and vice president for Banque Indosuez, Chambers joined S&P in 1993.
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Image: Chambers joined Standard and Poor's in 1993.
The Man who brought the US down
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While Chambers has a boss - David Beers, the global head of sovereign ratings - it was John who was in the line of fire publicly for S&P's decision.
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Image: In 2005, he became chairman of the sovereign rating committee.
The Man who brought the US down
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Image: David Beers is Chambers' boss.
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