This article and similar debates seem to be taking place under the assumption that investors actually trust the credit rating agency ratings, a notion which I see very little evidence of.  Even before the financial crisis, most investors were creating funds and investment strategies without regard to the ratings given by the government-backed ratings agencies (GBRA); the GBRAs have basically only been a rubber stamp required to determine reserve requirements and other regulatory issues.  For example, if investment banks had really cared about GBRA ratings, they would get ratings before packaging together loans, not after.<p>If I am right, then GBRAs are not to blame for the financial crisis, except for the fact that they may have given the public and the regulators false confidence in the credit-worthiness of borrowers.  This view really says that the GBRA are worthless overhead, which only serve to help the government pretend that regulators know what is going on and are protecting the citizens.