In a shuddering preview of what's in store for the U.S., Moody's Investor Services lowered the state of Illinois' bond ratings on Tuesday reports Karen Pierog of Reuters.

Illinois's bond ratings are now the second lowest of all 50 states, trailing only the # 1 holder of this dubious honor--California. In practical terms this means Illinois will have to pay bondholders a higher interest rate to compensate for their higher risk.

Illinois, is the state where then State Senator Barack Obama (D) voted present as a state legislator, consistently voting for tax and spend policies. Then, he moved on to represent Illinois in Washington as Senator Obama where he continued to do the same before moving on to become president of the United States where he continues his pattern of tax and spend, consequences be damned.

He brings forth policies of spending our way out of the recession caused, of course, by his predecessor. His presidential predecessor, of course, had to deal with a Congress that was controlled by the party of the now president of which the now president was a member. And the now president voted present or agreed with all the budget busting legislation.

Got it?