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The creditworthiness of the United States was downgraded by Fitch Ratings earlier this week. Everyone from the White House and Janet Yellen to financial analysts and journalists were losing their minds over this news.

But why on earth does this surprise anyone?!

Our nation is over $32 trillion in debt. Our deficit spending is out of control; we are spending trillions of dollars more than we can reasonably collect tax revenue. Even programs like Medicare and Social Security are facing critical times ahead.

Yet of the ~535 elected leaders in the House & Senate, only a tiny fraction of us seem serious about reducing spending, balancing the budget, and getting our fiscal house in order. Democrats are completely out to lunch on this issue, calling for MORE spending. It’s total lunacy. And while most Republicans are finally paying lip service to this critical issue, when the rubber hits the road, very few R’s will likely have the courage to stand strong and do what it takes to restore financial sanity to Washington.

If you can find one flaw in the U.S. Constitution, I’d suggest it might be its failure to require a balanced budget. (Except, perhaps, during periods of declared war.)

I’ll link to Fitch’s press release in the comments below. Look through the “Key Rating Drivers” for a clear understanding of their logic. Dark days are ahead for this country because of the irresponsible, negligent way too many elected leaders in Washington have managed our country’s finances over the last few decades. Nobody should be surprised at this downgrading.