A further testament to the fact that our nation’s economy is heading over the cliff. News this morning that Ford Motor Company is cutting production of their pickups and sport utility vehicles, of whom sales has dropped drastically in the recent months.
Quote from the AP:
Ford Motor Co. says it is cutting North American production for the rest of the year as high gas prices and the weak economy depress its sales.
The Dearborn-based company said Thursday it also expects to break even in 2009, scaling back its goal of returning to profitability by that time.
Ford says it will cut production by 15 percent in the second quarter, 15 to 20 percent in the third quarter and 2 to 8 percent in the fourth quarter.
The cuts primarily will affect pickups and sport utility vehicles, which have seen sales plummet in recent months. Ford plans to increase its production of cars and crossovers.
Video from CNBC:
I could launch into some sort of tirade and blame Bush and the Republicans for this, however, that would be using the current Political situation as a scapegoat. This economic crisis has been brewing for years and years and finally it has come to a crest.
Our nation allowed itself to become dependent on foreign oil, we are now basically slaves to a foreign supplier for oil for our nation’s resources. The housing crisis was caused by a few things, sub-prime lenders who were not over-sighted to make sure that they did not trick people into buying houses that they could not afford. I do believe in free markets, but I also believe in moderate regulation. This was not in place and now we’re in the mess we are in. However, I will say this, there were people that KNOWNINGLY bought houses that they knew that they could not afford. These people now want the United States Government to bail them out. I believe that this is totally wrong. Why should my tax dollars pay for some idiot, who knowingly (key word there…) signed loans that they could not afford to pay for?
I have heard the arguments for and against drilling in Alaska. I am not convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Alaska would solve ALL of our problems. I just believe we need to find sensible alternative forms of energy, some of one’s that I have seen, on the surface seem good, but there are other problems, that keep them for being implemented in the "real world."
There is no quick fix to this problem, it is going to take years to fix the problems that our Nation, as a whole, has created for ourselves.