Ford Refuses Bailout Money, Makes Profit
Jan 28, 2010 Political
Ford Motor Company was the only US big three auto maker to trun down the government’s offer of a bailout. The company was in financial trouble just as Chrysler and GM were but decided against taking taxpayer money.
GM and Chrysler took the money and their companies became government property with labor unions owning part of them. Neither has shown a profit and they both continue to bleed money. It is hard to see how they will survive and how taxpayers will ever get their money back (well, the banks will have to pay for it with a fee).
Ford showed a profit of $2.7 billion, its first annual profit in four years.
The company took action in the tough market and worked on a business plan that allowed it to make money, on its own and without politicians, (few of whom have business experience) running the show.
This is what happens when the free market is allowed to work. Ford would have failed on its own or succeeded on its own and that is how it should be. No business is too big to fail.
[note]One could argue Ford benefited from the cash for clunkers program but all auto makers had equal access to that program[/note]
I don’t think that Congress will catch on and neither will the progressives because they do not care about success, they care about control.
I love my Jeep but will not buy another. I will not buy a vehicle from a company that took my tax dollars and I really don’t care if they go belly up. I will buy from a company that was responsible and did not take tax dollars.
Looking at the financial status of the big three, it looks like I am not the only one who feels that way.
Ford makes some nice SUVs…
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Tags: bailouts, chrysler, ford, gm, government, taxpayers, unions
No Fiesta for UAW
Jun 1, 2008 Political
Ford Motor Company announced that it is building a global car, a car that is fuel efficient, easily made and can be marketed anywhere in the world and that it is going to produce them in Mexico. Ford will begin making the Fiesta in Mexico and this will create nearly 30,000 jobs (no indication if they are all in Mexico). The United Auto Workers Union is very upset with Ford because the union wanted the company to invest in American plants and make the car here. The problem is, if Ford wants to make an inexpensive car they cannot have the union involved.
The major American auto manufacturers have real financial problems and those problems keep getting worse. The unions have been one of the reasons for some of the financial problems for years. Union rules about who can work where and do what, pay demands, benefit demands, and any number of other things have driven costs up and profits down. There are union workers who get paid to do nothing when there is a slow down all because of some union rule. Ford decided to go to Mexico where it would not have to worry about union costs. The irony is, Ford went to Mexico to get workers to do jobs Americans were willing to do. Another irony is they will be making the Fiesta in Mexico…
Ford might actually be thinking of other cost savings as well. About 10% of the Mexican population already lives in the US. Maybe some of them will go back home to get a job making cars. But, the big issue is that instead of trucking the cars north Ford can just let illegals drive them on in. They can pick up some extra cash dropping cars off in America and then they can just stay here. This will save us a lot of money because there will be no need for the fence that they are not going to build anyway. If we don’t have to worry about illegals crossing the desert on foot we can save millions of dollars not building a fence.
Ford is another company that sent jobs out of the country (ooh and on Bush’s watch) but what choice do they have? With all the global warming fanaticism and the government regulations as well as the burden of the union the company would never make money. By making cars in Mexico they are able to skirt some of the burdensome rules imposed on comanies doing business here.
Source:
Washington Post
