From the Article:
Fitch Ratings' decision to place the AAA credit rating of the United States on a negative watch list is a timely reminder for some Republicans and the world 's largest economy needs to improve its long-term fiscal sustainability, said Arvind Subramanian, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics, Wednesday.
"For any other country that is likely to default, it will immediately be put on the watch list," Subramanian said in an interview with Xinhua.
Fitch Ratings, a global rating agency based in New York City, on Tuesday placed U.S. "AAA" credit rating on rating watch negative, as American authorities have not raised the federal debt ceiling in a timely manner before the U.S. Department of Treasury exhausts its extraordinary measures Thursday. The U.S. government has been forced to close partially for the first time in 17 years starting Oct. 1 due to a lack of money to fund the federal governmental agencies. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew has warned that a debt limit agreement needs to be reached no later than Oct. 17.
"It's a warning to the extremists in the Republican party, because they are saying nothing will happen," said Subramanian, who described the latest round of fiscal wrangle between U.S. Democrats and Republicans was an example of "lousy governance.
The United States is confronted with long-term fiscal challenges and it should endeavor to control its spiking health care costs, he stressed.
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