Once upon a time, the term, “credit rating,” was certain to induce narcolepsy. Today, that same term promotes hysteria… especially when the credit in question is the United States government and the rating in question is a downgrade from AAA to AA+. As most Daily Reckoning readers are aware by now, Standard & Poor’s sharpened [...] The End of an Era originally appeared in the Daily Reckoning . The Daily Reckoning provides 400,000+ readers economic news, market analysis, and contrarian investment ideas. Follow the Daily Reckoning on Facebook .