Europe should thank the super committee

The head of credit research at Société Générale is zinging politicians on the super committee for failing to reach a deal on the America’s runaway debt. In short, the indication is that the bipartisan Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction blew a huge opportunity to accomplish something so much stronger than anyone may realize. In a note to investors, Soc Gen’s Roger Horn said U.S. credit markets already had little good news to be thankful for over the last week, “as spreads have traded 7.5% wider on investment grade corporate CDS and 9.8% on high yield CDS.” Horn also laments the lack of political power in the U.S. I complained about the lack of political power to solve Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. With Horn’s note, it now seems endemic: Washington lacks the ability to exact fundamental change. “With the failure of the debt super committee, American politicians succeeded in their apparent plan to improve the image of their European counterparts in the eyes of global investors,” Horn said. ZING! “Our economist Rudy Narvas notes that the failure reduces the probability that we will see a fiscal stimulus package in 2012 and therefore increases the risk of recession,” he added. “The Democrats had been trying to tie in some stimulus as part of the deficit talks, while the Republicans seemed reluctant to support any stimulus measures.” So it seems as if America’s politicians may, in the end, be very similar to those in Europe when it comes to solving fiscal crises. It’s an instance where imitation is not a form of flattery. Write to Jacob Gaffney. Follow him on Twitter @jacobgaffney.