Where is Ford's Most Cutting Edge Auto Plant?

For the past 20 years, my dad has been a strong advocate of buying American cars from American companies. No more. Since the automobile bailout, and the refusal of the UAW to give up any concessions, he will now buy other US-made, but foreign owned, car brands, such as Toyota and Honda. He recently informed the owner of the local GM dealership where he lives, and from whom he has bought numerous vehicles, that because of the UAW, he will take his money elsewhere. This seems like a fine strategy to get the point across to automakers that if we want American car companies to thrive (which we do) then they must be able to compete in the global markeplace. We're not in Kansas anymore (or Michigan) and the UAW had better realize that unless they change their ways, the American automobile industry is circling the drain, bailout or no bailout. An unsustainable business plan can only be propped up by the government for so long before taxpayers revolt and say "enough". (Shameless plug- get your "enough" t- shirt by clicking on the link to the right).

This is a short video of a new Ford plant in Brazil . One look at this and you will be able to tell why there will probably never be another one built in the USA . It will also point out why more assembly plants will go offshore.

http://info.detnews.com/video/index.cfm?id=1189

And pay attention to the last few words. That sentence says a lot!

It's About Time

The Republicans are finally getting the message that the taxpayers are furious at the exhorbitant sums of money being thrown about on the hill. In Bloomberg today, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he wants to slow consideration of the economic stimulus package Democrats are drafting, warning that the measure sought by President-elect Barack Obama invites wasteful spending.

" “A trillion-dollar spending bill would be the largest spending bill in the history of our country at a time when our national debt is already the largest in history,” McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said in a statement. “As a result, it will require tough scrutiny and oversight. Taxpayers, already stretched to the limit, deserve nothing less.”
McConnell called for giving lawmakers and the public at least one week to review the legislation once it has been written. He also said he wanted Senate committee hearings on the measure, rather than immediate floor consideration.

“We must make distinctions between what is ‘stimulus’ -- defined by Speaker Pelosi earlier this year as ‘timely, targeted and temporary’ -- and what is merely more government spending on favored projects we don’t need with money we don’t have,” McConnell said.

House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio said today he has reservations about the size of the plan. He also called for hearings on it and at least a week of publicly available text for taxpayers to review. In the House the minority party doesn’t have as much power as in the Senate to stall legislation. "

Let's hope that the small band of fiscally conservative legislators can force some prudent thought about how our money will be allocated onto the rest of the slap-happy spenders.

Cartoon of the Day

Our First Socialist President

It's 2016. The Presidential election is coming up and the talking heads, economists, and political analysts write books and chatter on tv about the great socialist expansion of the United States of America. Industries have been nationalized, and the country carries a dangerous amount of debt, much of it held by the other major global power, China. But the focus is not on Obama. It is on our 43rd President, George W. Bush.

In recent months, Bush has presided over the largest expansion of government into private industry in the history of America. We are all acutely aware of his and the Congress' penchant for spending; the deficit has spiraled upwards during his presidency, throwing out all of the old ideals of Republican fiscal restraint. But this latest intrusion of government into having a stake in so many private industries is not just another spending bender. It sets a new precedent for the nationalization of any industry the government deems necessary. In a capitalist society, this has downright ruinous implications for our future.

Capitalism thrives on free markets in which there is inherent risk and reward. The higher the risk, the higher the chance for great reward. Many innovators fail, but for the chance at grabbing the brass ring, many entreprenuers continue to strive, sometimes at great peril to their financial and personal circumstances. In a country where the government swoops in and artificially props up certain businesses and prices at taxpayer expense, risk and reward are diminished. There is only so much money the taxpayers can reasonably afford before the incentive to work harder is thwarted. And because innovators in a government funded environment cannot expect great reward, there is less incentive to go above and beyond to create that new world changing technology. If, for example, the new technology creates a life saving medicine, and government runs healthcare, there will either be price controls placed on the drug or it will be rationed to keep expenses down. The end result is less innovation, and a slower growing economy. Without new ideas and creation, the pie never grows. In countries in which government does not allow businesses to fail, taxpayers shoulder the greatest burdens, and risk and reward are mimimized, the same old worn out pieces of the pie are just shuffled around again and again.

I cannot imagine why George Bush believes this is the best road for our country to take. Perhaps he does not understand the ramifications, particularly with the looming inauguration of a President who believes down to his core that this is the direction our country should take. Perhaps he does not want the failure of so many huge businesses tarnishing his legacy. But in reality, Bush is doing the most damage to his legacy with these very actions. He is setting us about on a dangerous path, making it easier for Obama to come in and finish the job, all under the auspices of a national emergency. When we look back in 2016, we'll wonder how our country changed so fundamentally, so quickly, and with nary a peep from we the people.

Throwing Mud Against the Wall

It appears that nobody has any clue as to whether the billions of dollars spent on easing the financial crisis is working or will work at all. Whilst we put our faith in the masters of the financial universe to turn this Titanic of a crisis around, it seems that they are almost as clueless about what to do to solve the issues at hand as my grandmother residing in her assisted living facility. And forget about Congress. If the A students in finance don't get it, how can we expect the C students with all of their grandstanding and focus on self promotion to get it, or to actually do the right thing?

Today in the NYT an article leads off with "The head of a new Congressional panel set up to monitor the gigantic federal bailout says the government still does not seem to have a coherent strategy for easing the financial crisis, despite the billions it has already spent in that effort.
Elizabeth Warren, the chairwoman of the oversight panel, said in an interview Monday that the government instead seemed to be lurching from one tactic to the next without clarifying how each step fits into an overall plan.
“You can’t just say, ‘Credit isn’t moving through the system,’ ” she said in her first public comments since being named to the panel. “You have to ask why.”"

I previously posted an article which put the number of Fed dollars being used for economic stimulus at $7.4 TRILLION dollars. That's $24,000 per man, woman, and child in this country. Why doesn't anyone answer some basic questions for the taxpayers, instead of just ramming through bailout after bailout with our money? I'd like to know:
1) How much money does the Fed actually have?
2) Where does it come from?
3) Is anyone to be held accountable for this spending spree? I mean REALLY accountable.
4) What are the future ramifications of all this spending? If you are not sure, please provide various scenarios.
5) What if it doesn't work?

I have felt from the beginning of this craziness that in 10 years, analysts will look back at the government reaction to this crisis and conclude that at least half of our money was wasted. Yet we will still be stuck with the bill. When you throw enough mud against the wall, some will inevitably stick, but this particular mud is OUR money and OUR future. I for one would like some explanations.

It is Time to Send Them Packing

Disgusted. Worried. Out of control. Fed up. I feel all of these the day after the people we voted into office passed the largest bail-out in American history; almost a trillion dollars laden with pork. I won't debate the merits of passing this repugnant bill, or whether more palatable alternatives could have been sought. It is a Done Deal, and we, the taxpayers, and our children, and our children's children, have been burdened with something the size and ramifications of which we cannot even begin to comprehend. No, my focus is on holding accountable those who caused this mess in the first place.

There are many villains whose actions resulted in this debacle, a Perfect Storm of corruption, greed, and utter denial. There are the Wall Street Fat Cats, who enriched themselves at the cost of their shareholders, and who are still sitting pretty on their huge piles of cash. There are the leaders of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who changed the rules determining their compensation packages so that the more mortgage business they pulled in, whether good or bad, the bigger their personal pay load. There are ordinary Americans, who lived in denial, above their means, and bought houses and cars and flat screen TV's that they simply could not afford, and thought the band would continue to play on and on. And there are our Representatives in the House and Senate, who went to Washington to serve us, and instead, continously betrayed us, their constituents. The corruption and back room deals, the lobbying and pork, and the arrogance of the "We know better than you" attitude. It is unconsionable, and we do our best trying to get though our hectic days as they trample all over us, confident in the fact that we are not paying attention. Until it hits us head-on like a Mack Truck, as it has these past few weeks.

What can we do? We are left feeling powerless . We cannot control Wall Street or CEO greed. We cannot control our neighbors' fiscal irresponsibility. We cannot demand that the FBI investigate who did what and when. The web of responsibilty for this mess is unspeakably tangled. Congress promises to investigate, but guess who will be in charge of the investigations? The very Congressional leaders who benefited most from the crooks with whom they danced our futures away. Do you think it is likely that the most egregious parties will be held responsible? I think not. Not while the Inmates are running the Asylum.

A recent poll showed that 98% of Americans feel that Congress needs to be reformed. The last group of people to unite Americans so resoundingly flew planes into our buildings. Then, with One Voice, we said "Enough!". We went after the criminals with military weapons, and the fight goes on. We are once again faced with an unimaginably frightening challenge, the soundness of our economy and futures of our families, but this time, the criminals come from within. Once again, with One Voice, we must say "Enough!". Only this time, our weapon of choice is the most powerful one of all, the one which our founding fathers bestowed upon us; our Vote.

As Americans, not as Democrats or Republicans or Independents, we need to root out the corruption at its source. Congress has become a den of thieves, and make no mistake, ALL parties bear responsibilty. We must Send Them a Message with this election and VOTE OUT EVERY INCUMBENT in Washington. No partisanship. No "But I like my guy" or "He's been in office for many years and does good things for our state". If he's been in office for a long time, he had plenty of time to Stop the Nonsense, and he did not. He became part of the problem. If you cost your company 8% of it's gross earnings for the year through incompetence or corruption, you would be fired. Period. That's approximately the amount of our GDP that the bailout equals. These people will not take us, their constituents, seriously, until we tell them, "You're fired!". Perhaps then, the remaining Representatives and Senators will recognize that they must look out for OUR interests, not their own. History tells us that rampant, uncontrolled government corruption preceded the fall of the Roman Empire, whose principles our founding fathers used to forge our democracy. Use the power of your vote to say "Enough!" and save us and this country from the snakes lying within.