Welcome to

Florida’s credit rating is holding strong despite S&Ps downgrading of the federal government. Florida has kept its AAA credit rating despite the trouble in Washington. But the state’s investments haven’t faired as well. As Whitney Ray tells us, the state pension has lost eight billion dollars of its value since the first of the month, but administrators say they’re not worried.

The federal credit downgrade and the enormous drop in the stock market are signs of a weak national economy, but Florida is hoping to buck the trend.

Governor Rick Scott says bucking the trend means making tough choices.

“The rating is a confirmation of what we all understand of what’s going on in our country. We are going to have to go through a process of making choices,” said Scott.

The state is holding onto it’s AAA rating even as the federal government falls to a AA+, but even though Florida is holding strong the national downgrade will be felt here. Many fear it will be harder to get home loans. Scott says the housing market will pick up once he reaches his jobs goal.

“I’ll be glad when we get to the 700-thousand jobs, when we get there, that’s when we are going to change the housing market,” said Scott.

Another place where the federal downgrade and subsequent drop in the stock market is having an impact is in the state’s pension investments. Since the first of the month the pension fund’s value fell from 127 billion dollars to 119 billion.

“We weather the short term volatility for the benefit of long term returns and we expect short term volatility,” said State Board of Administration Spokesman Dennis MacKee.

He says the goals are 20 and 30 years out, not day to day. In 2009, the fund dropped to 83 billion dollars, but the made full recovery and actually made gains. MacKee says people get worked up over the value drop, but the fund has more than enough money to pay its retirement obligations, and is so diversified that it traditionally yields a nearly nine percent return.