Political dysfunction dents the U.S. credit rating

The credit rating agency Fitch bumped the United States’ credit rating down a notch this week despite the country’s strong economic performance. We’ll hear what Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had to say about it and get into why political dysfunction is at the root of the downgrade. Plus, why a carbon-free future likely depends on nuclear energy. And what musical beat is the U.S. economy grooving to?

Here’s everything we talked about:

“New Georgia reactor shows benefits and costs of nuclear power” from Marketplace

“Yellen: Fitch downgrade ‘entirely unwarranted’ amid US economy’s strength” from Reuters

“New York Dems beg Biden to fast-track migrant work permits” from Politico

“Inhumane conditions reported at large migrant shelter in New York City” from NPR

“The economic anthem of the moment depends on how you read the data” from Marketplace

We want to know what you’d pick as the economic anthem of the moment! Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email us at [email protected].

Join us tomorrow for Economics on Tap. The YouTube livestream starts at 3:30 p.m. Pacific time, 6:30 p.m. Eastern. We’ll have news, drinks, a game and more.