Are Ford and Chrysler Far Behind?

General Motors announced plans Tuesday to shut four truck and SUV plants that employ thousands of workers, saying high gas prices are here to stay - and, with them, consumers' growing preference for more fuel efficient vehicles. I know that the tree huggers will be thrilled by this news but let’s look at the real impact. Thousands of workers out of a job due to no fault of their own, the turn in the housing market many will make it difficult if not impossible to sell their homes if needed, bankruptcies will once again increase and cities will lose tax revenues leading to a decline in services. My liberal friends will blame President Bush for these problems as usually.

But did this need to happen? I would say NO if after the 1970s we decided to get off foreign oil and to tap into automotive technology we would be in a different place today. If we can develop a car that runs on the moon why are we applying that technology on planet earth? We are sitting on a petroleum supply that could power our nation well into the next century but we have failed to harvest it. Our nuclear naval has been sailing the high seas for better than three decades but we are not using it to light our homes and businesses.

We have had over thirty years of both parties being in-charged. However, our political parties are quick to point their fingers at each other or the evil oil companies as the reason we are in the boat we are in but the real problem is we have not had the leadership needed to get us off foreign oil. We need the President and Congress to lay out a plan in conjunction with the corporate America to make this happen. If a single politician claims to hold the solution they are be less than honest. This effort needs to be treated like the moon project that President Kennedy challenged our nation to back in the 60s.

The words of Sir Isaac Newton come to mind “for every action there is an opposite but equal reaction.” If we would done what was needed three decades ago we would not be looking at this scenario. We need to have leadership that will put the good of the nation ahead of everything else. We need vision and not yesterday’s grumbling and blame game.