Okay, the election is over. Its time to focus on other things… and right now the biggest issue is the economy. The stock market is fluctuating everyday with the DOW hovering in the mid 8000’s. Jobless rates are going up. Sales in the retail market are tanking and expected to go down further. Home foreclosures are up and home values are down. And of course the Big Three automakers here in Michigan are about to tank if they don’t get a little help from their friends in D.C. (lucky for them Washington has set a precedent of tossing lots of cash around just recently).
Arianna Huffington has a good post about the current economic situation at her site. It is short and I recommend it for a quick recap of things as they are.
Want a little more info? How about the big G20 summit taking place in Washington DC this weekend. World leaders from 20 different countries have gathered here in the United States to attempt to formulate a united strategy to deal with what is a global economic crisis. Anyone feel better knowing it isn’t just America in trouble? Yeah, me neither. If I were a paranoid person I would start shouting things like New World Order and Illuminati agenda! But there is so much disagreement about HOW they should handle things that it is doubtful (to me) they will figure out a solution to the current situation let alone redraw the globe into a new Fascist Utopia. Some countries however, like China, may actually come out of this situation more powerful than ever before bringing global changes as yet unimagined.
Now for something a little closer to home… Detroit and the Automakers. Living in Michigan this is an in your face issue. Absolutly everyone knows someone that will be effected by whatever eventually happens to Ford, GM, and Chrysler. All three automakers have made bad management decisions that have lead them to be extremely vulnerable to the larger economic crisis. Of course this is a situation of their own making, but the consiquences of denying them the $50 billion they’ve asked for from the Government is far reaching. Estimates of 2 to 5 million jobs could be lost. The loss of tax revenue alone would be devistating. As much as I’d love these companies to have to eat crow for their bad decisions and let the “Free Market” wipe them out it may be a case of cutting off our nose to spite our face.
For anyone paying attention though none of this should come as a surprise. The housing bubble, easy credit, and stagnant wages are just a few of the warning signs that have been creeping up on us for years. Much like a cat creeping up on its not so unsuspecting prey…
