Austerity Doesn’t Pay as Debt Markets Ignore Rating Cuts

Britain is forcing Stephen Jobling and his stroke patients to defend the nation’s AAA credit rating.

Staffing at the National Health Service hospital ward where Jobling works was reduced by about half in the U.K.’s deepest drive since World War II to shrink its deficit. The goal was to avoid losing the top credit score, which might risk higher interest expenses, according to the government of Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron.