Trucker Strike?
Posted By: Dr. Frugal in Economics on 03/24/2008 at 06:49:05
Truckers are apparently getting ready to strike. How catastrophic would that be for our shaky economy right now? I'll go ahead and field that--pretty darn catastrophic. From the article:
At issue is the rising cost of diesel fuel, which has reached or exceeded $4 per gallon in at least 17 states. But Little does not expect his strike to bring down the per-gallon price of gas, nor does he expect to have any effect on the oil companies.
"What I would personally like to see is our federal and state governments, until our economy recovers, suspend federal and state fuel taxes," the 49-year-old said. "The second thing I'd like to see is an oversight committee for truck insurance, which is part of what's taking us down.
"The average owner/operator is paying $600 to $800 a month for truck insurance. It's based on personal credit, which means the monthly cost is going up for a lot of truckers because their credit is going down.
"Everything in the world is going up (in price), except for what we do. I lose money if I start my truck, and that truck is paid for — free and clear."
I for one did not realize how much of the cost fell directly on the truckers themselves. Maybe it's because when I'm out driving I can more quickly recognize the "name brand" trucks but look past the non-logo'd ones. Regardless, if you want to start giving out subsidies maybe it's time to take them away from the all-time-record-profit oil companies and throw some to the blue collar guys making our lives possible.
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