Truckers And The American Economy

TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, MAY 16, 2012

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Thursday, May 5, 2011 at 11:00 AM EDT

Truckers And The American Economy

American truckers. They’re on the front line of the U.S. economy. We get the view from big rig country.

Rigs belonging to Warner Enterprises sit on the Warner lot, west of Omaha, Neb.,May 13, 2009. (AP)

American truckers know this country mile by mile by mile.

From their big rigs, 18-wheelers, high in the cab, they’ve got a wide view: of factory and farm and what’s moving on the highways; of grain bins and loading docks where they pick up; of the cities and towns where they drop off; of all the traffic and life in between.

They’re celebrated in song. They’re worked hard on the highway. They know what’s up with the economy — they’re carrying it.

And they are listening, from their cabs, to the life of the nation.

This hour On Point: truckers, trucking and the view from the big rig.

- Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Noel Perry, managing director and senior consultant at Transport Fundamentals, one of the country’s only ‘trucking economists.’ He joins us from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Todd Spencer, executive director of the OOIDA (Owner-Operator Independent Drivers’ Association) and former independent trucker. He joins us from Grain Valley, Missouri. He is also former editor and now a frequent writer for the OOIDA’s “Landline Magazine.”

Willie “Ugly” Tessier, a company driver –and for today, On Point’s own philosopher-king of the road. He’ll join us from his home in Rogersville, Tennessee while resting up after an overnight haul and waiting for the next job.

Kurt

Great topic. Hope you also discuss rail transport. Trains can haul a heck of a lot more stuff on less fuel than the truck-by-truck long distance approach to moving commodities and freight. What the US needs is a better rail system and network–Congress should authorize the funds to improve that infrastructure and help take the load off truckers and give lots of them good jobs building and working on the railroads. We’ll still need short-haul truckers. But trucking sure wastes diesel fuel. And railroads will add jobs.

And by the way, more and better railroads could help get more of those truckers who love to tailgate and box passenger cars in, driving well above the speed limit, off the road, too.

Patti1225

Kurt, you had part of your info on the Interstate system correct, but it was also developed to transport freight across country, keeping the trucks off the highway system used by cars. Worked well until the cars started invading the Interstates. And think of the hundreds if not thousands of drivers your plan would put out of work, are you ready for a tax increase to pay us benefits and for our retraining for another career?? And one more point, if you check the FACTS, there are far more cars speeding, tailgating, etc than trucks every day!!
Kworth201

Kurt. I bet you’re one of those ignorant idiots who drives in the left lane well below the speed limit while texting on your way to and from work. It’s people like you who make our roads unsafe to travel. Don’t get me wrong. There are Truck Drivers who are just as bad. If everyone could experience whats its like to be behind the wheel of 80,000 lbs on wheels, there would be more then enough driver respect to go around. We as Truck Drivers have an advantage. That is, that we can see several vehicles ahead of us, which lets us travel at the speed we do. So. Do yourself and others around you a favor. Lead, Follow, or Get The Hell Outa The Way!!!

nj

Just to get everyone in the mood…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTsE9Pb6apM&feature=related
Tom Waits – Big Joe and Phantom 309
Brett

Along about the time when the airline industry was deregulated, the trucking industry was deregulated, as well…it’s not been a good thing, unless, of course, one thinks buying crappy goods at low prices is valued above all else!
Yar

Thank you On Point for attempting to take a look inside America through the eyes of truckers.. Truckers have a wisdom that is missing or ignored by the white collar set. Truckers see the underground economy up close, the exploitation of youth in the sex trade, and drug use. They know who picks our vegetables and the conditions of our infrastructure. Truckers have had years to contemplate what is needed to solve our problems. They know all the ways one can destroy themselves and how to avoid temptation. They have seen the bodies that are lost in the war of industrialization. I hope you get to the real issues facing our country, as truckers travel the veins and arteries of our nation they see both the bad and good that makes up our society.

Kurt

Well said. You are correct. The media tends to talk far more with white-collar than blue-collar experts on social and economic issues. Where are the views of the oil rig mechanics and workers on what should be done about corporations like BP? Or the miners when mine safety issues still haven’t been resolved? Or voices of nurses and social workers in the national health care debate? (Is that mainly pink collar? Don’t mean to be sexist or classist here at all. The point is including voices from the trenches/on the streets.)

Less university training does not equal less intelligence or ability to analyze social ills. You get it, Tom–paper-pushing bean counters and bankers don’t cut it when examining all of the “big picture.” Too bad the news media has fired so many “beat” reporters. Real America is still out here.

Ellen Dibble

Brett, who says truckers only haul “crappy goods”? Since I don’t have a car, truckers haul everything I can’t fetch by bicycle.

And Kurt, “trucking sure wastes diesel fuel”? It depends. I get my groceries from Peapod, which saves me a lot of money because I have 3 or 4 more hours to work, and that outfit has very personable more or less local truckers. I mean, I consider the truckers my spider web, my link to cities and locales nearby but out of my usual range. They remember me, I remember them. Sure, it is sometimes an Illinois person who calls to say, “Your driver is pulling up outside.” But for each round by that Peapod truck, there are probably 50 fewer car trips made. One long trip versus 50 shorter trips. Which is more fuel efficient? Rail can’t do everything.

But the condition of our roads and bridges might partly reflect our national ambivalence about oil/global warming/environmental issues.

Brett

I know I didn’t say truckers ONLY haul crappy goods, but the availability of goods (crappy/the highest quality/essential), let’s say now as compared to the pre-deregulation era, does not justify how truckers affect traffic in (for example) the Washington metropolitan area. Also, the dramatic increase in traffic accidents after deregulation has been a result of truckers being kept on the road for longer periods of time/reduced stringy of truck inspections. My initial point (although admittedly not well articulated), pertained to regulation vs. deregulation in the industry. We all recognize the value of the trucking industry, but does that mean lax regulation is necessary to achieve availability of goods?

Brett

“stringy” should have been stringency…
Ellen Dibble

What were you doing, anyway, commenting at about 3:15 in the morning? No wonder your point wasn’t all that clear.
I don’t equate Walmart with truckers. Most of my intersection comes when big rigs catch their roofs on the local railroad trestle. We have big artwork murals on that overpass, or have had, in the past, depicting a greatly magnified dent in the metal due to the latest truck-meets-overpass event.
Certainly I’d think more and better railroads would assist in reducing truck traffic. But every little town and city council planning board would get in the way if new railroad lines were needed (where did Eisenhower get his clout in the 1950s for the interstates…); this is not the only infrastructure update (railroads, high speed internet, multidirectional electric grid) that is getting stalled when we need expedited action.

Tina

Ellen, I can’t really tell this story very well, because I might be talking about a different decade than you ask about (re Ike), but, in Providence, anyway, when major North-South interstate Route 95 went thru, it went thru the neighborhoods where lots of Italian immigrants and their first generation families lived. I don’t know if there was money exchanged to make things happen, but the neighborhood that was most affected had the least political pull (they achieved clout later, I believe). Again, my history may be off (’cause I didn’t live here ’til later), but I think it was the clout of one ethnic group playing off the powerlessness of another ethnic group that determined how that major thoroughfare went thru. The neighborhood also got cut off from downtown, which was a major, detrimental change. I do not know if the feds were just the beneficiaries of local wheeling and dealing to make this happen, or not. Anyway, this story probably explains, thru the parts that I got right, specifics that were generally true thruout the total interstate system. Maybe someone will read this from RI who can write in and tell the whole story with confidence.

Kurt

Pres. Eisenhower built the interstate highway system in part to help with national defense, in the era when missles needed to be put into silos around the country, etc. This infrastructure mega-project
led to the decline of rail transport, just when we could have been investing in bullet train technology (which Americans invented and began to develop) after WWII, as the Europeans and Japanese have done since. The jobs created here in the 50s and 60s and 70s when whole neighborhoods (mine!) were bulldozed by eminent domain to put in the freeways and ramps in and around cities led to great economic prosperity. My point is that investing in railways again would ease congestion on our highways, cut down on pollution, reduce our need for more oil at the expense of the blood of our sons and daughters fighting in insane overseas wars. Truckers would not waste so much time stuck in traffic, too!

Kurt

And I should add that the strength of the railroad unions and the politics of their striking didn’t help their cause. The rise of the southern oil state politicians literally fueled the trucking industry–while also breaking up the teamsters’ unions’ strength, too. Hope you examine how those politics and policies are still playing out for the average guy or gal who’s not got that union backing.

Ellen Dibble

Very interesting about the influence of the southern oil state politicians. The role of the Teamsters union and railroad unions — I hope the program addresses these, yes.

Tina

Yes! Let’s ask for a show devoted to these interesting factors!

Tina

Kurt, A former railroad line from Providence along the East Bay, sometimes with views of Narragansett Bay, goes all the way thru four East Bay towns, winding up in Bristol, RI. In about 1990, the major effort to get that line turned into a bike path was successful. At first I was against it because the the path was then unpaved, and rich with overgrown grasses and beautiful wildflowers and shrubs, and I loved walking there. The thought of that being paved over wasn’t something I liked. But, I did soon see how fun it was to have a bike path to get all the way to Bristol, or to Providence, for the fun of it, especially because using regular roadways to do so quickly taught me how UNhealthy some bike riding can be because you are sharing the road with all the automobile EXHAUST FUMES!!!.

But sometime in my fluctuating opinions about the path, I really did think that it would actually be a much better time to create a bike path that shared the space with EXTREMELY light rail. I moved; and now the path goes right by my house: I would still love to see a trolley-sized car go by as many times as necessary to lighten traffic; I’d especially love it if it whistled at my intersection! (The sound of railroad horns in Florida is sublime to my ears!) The land that I might lose to do so isn’t that significant, unless I’m naive about how much they would take, altho I don’t think that I am, because the railroad used to go right by my house from when the house was built in 1924 until the hurricane of 1938 or 1954 (I should know which, but I don’t!) put the rail service to an end. Maybe other people would lose more land, and well, I guess that might not be good. But one day I found a bottle IN my grass near the bike path. It was an old soda bottle from a bottling company that used to be about four long blocks from here. I immediately pictured one of the old railroad cars, on a hot summer day, with the windows open: someone, maybe in 1930, finished their soda and thru the bottle out the window, to be discovered by me 80 years later (maybe)!
Rosatroyer

The one big problem with the rail is they tend to lose loads. How they do that is beyond me but it happens. How do I know? Well a few years back we hauled window supplies to Oregon. We had to haul glass out of Detroit as the company was out and in dire need of glass. They had an order shipped by rail. It got lost in the shuffle somewhere. By the time we had hauled the 4th load of glass they still had not found the rail car with that glass that was ordered prior to our hauling glass by truck. So rail is not always the answer either.

MJ

The trucking industry needs to market itself better.

My husband worked for 8 years in a cubicle doing office work. He came home moody and crabby all the time. He quit and became a truck driver and I’ve had a brand new husband for these past 11 years!

Later when our son was diagnosed with Asperger’s we realized my husband has a lot sensory issues as well. Being around a lot of people and social noise bothers him, so trucking is a perfect job for him. My husband can also be socially awkward, so being able to socialize, but not for long periods of time, is perfect for him.

I think there’s a lot of people out there that would find trucking a perfect lifestyle for their personality but don’t do it because of its “blue collar” reputation.

http://twitter.com/Break1_9 Ben Lujin

I don’t think companies want to advertise that they’re seeking drivers with issues to come work for them.

Besides, they already do a pretty good job at suckering people into the most disrespected and underpaid profession out there!

Tina

Ben, I appreciate MJ’s discussion about Asperger’s, and so I want to defend her statement against the use of your phrase, “drivers with issues”. The Asperger’s people in my life are incredibly gifted, as well, and maybe a knowledge of the mechanics of the engine and truck that he drives is part of her husband’s giftedness. I’m just guessing an educated guess. I’m pretty sure that you didn’t really hear how your words sounded; so please take my defense of MJ’s comment as being more generally applicable to the reading public on this site rather than aimed at you directly. Thanks!

Rodknocker Baby

Deregulation and CDL driver mills have destroyed what was once a great job. More and more of your seasoned and experienced drivers are opting to get off the road if they can. I have over 2.5 million miles and I’m lucky to have found a local driving job. I do indeed miss the long-hauling that I did for 20+ years. But now, No more log books, idiotic trucker wannabes, overcrowded truckstops, pushy dispatchers, loss of commaraderie, lousy food, disrespect from shippers/recievers/general public/DOT, etc. I could go on and on….Manoman, I sure do miss OTR, but those days are over.

http://twitter.com/Break1_9 Ben Lujin

Obviously your seasoned and experienced drivers weren’t keeping pace with freight capacity demands.
I agree that driver training needs to be improved. Maybe your experienced drivers should come off the road and be trainers? Besides, “seasoned and experienced” implies that they’re probably at or near retiring age anyway!
Deregulation and CDL mills didn’t destroy a great job. Old men whining and complaining instead of mentoring, drug addicts behind the wheel, and drivers who think they own the road…are what have brought it where it is!

jbr

My father has been a truck driver for over a dozen years. After 25 years of service in the military, he seems to have found a second career he quite enjoys.

My concern for his health and safety comes from the incredible idiocy of other drivers on the roads. Passing truckers on the right, impatiently speeding up and then making a turn in front of a semi, these are foolish and dangerous actions. I wonder what, if anything, can be done to make the general driving public more aware of the dangers they pose?

Mangumbiz

I would like to see “dashcams” placed in trucks and then shown on television news shows like 20/20, etc. Also, they should be shown to Driver’s Ed Classes and Defensive Driving!!!

http://twitter.com/Break1_9 Ben Lujin

how would you like your actions caught on camera and handed over to law enforcement for citations? Imagine getting a dozen citations in the mail. And you thought you were being a good driver.

BTW, some drivers and companies already have cameras on the trucks to protect themselves in the event of a collision!

BHA in Vermont

Give truckers the right to give ticket to these people. Or ram them and the idiot pays for any damage to the truck. Whichever. Either would stop the stupid behavior.

http://twitter.com/Break1_9 Ben Lujin

road rage solves nothing.
http://twitter.com/Break1_9 Ben Lujin

road rage solves nothing.

http://twitter.com/Break1_9 Ben Lujin

AARP has an excellent awareness program for seniors that driver’s ed programs need to pick up.
People simply don’t know how their actions affect the truckers job. some are even clueless to what a big rig can and can’t do. I heard of one lady that thought we could stop faster because we had more wheels!
http://twitter.com/Break1_9 Ben Lujin

AARP has an excellent awareness program for seniors that driver’s ed programs need to pick up.
People simply don’t know how their actions affect the truckers job. some are even clueless to what a big rig can and can’t do. I heard of one lady that thought we could stop faster because we had more wheels!

ThresherK

One more vote for deregulation ruining it. Now, “if you ain’t cheatin, you ain’t tryin”, with respect to how a systemic issue gets blamed on the public face, the individuals.

Tangent: How many of us take for granted that “JungleStoreOnline” will ship a minimum order of $25 for free? How long do we think that will last when oil prices no longer come back down?
Pamohearn

So, are you going to talk about how much low-class prostitution is moved truck stop to truck stop via the big rigs? The meth and other drug movement the same way? How about just having everyone driving on the highways look out at the litter on the side of the highways and how many bottles are there, all filled with a yellow liquid…yes piss bottles.

Glenn K.

Yes, I’d like to hear about this as well! Tom, what about it?
Samsak50

Don’t paint with such a broad brush. In 15 years I never hauled any drugs, whores or threw out piss bottles. But I did haul an awful lot of ‘jobs’ as in steel, lumber, etc.
http://twitter.com/Break1_9 Ben Lujin

I agree that the pee bottles are disgusting and should be disposed of properly. But I’ve witnessed car drivers toss their Mickey Ds trash out the window. Walmart sacks of who knows what. People tossing out their furniture along the highway, when they think no one is looking.
The world is disgusting. But truckers aren’t even 50% responsible.

BTW, I’m sure that plenty of people don’t understand the purpose of the pee bottles. It’s simple. Restrooms facilities are not always easily accessible to truckers. Sometimes, not at all (like when you’re at a shipper/receiver before they open). The vibration and jarring a trucker endures in these trucks, makes “holding it” extremely difficult if not impossible. A truckstop could be an hour or more away. And restrictive Hours Of Service Regulations may dictate that you can’t even legally go anywhere for several more hours.

I don’t know about you. But for me, when Mother Nature comes calling. You gotta answer it!

Rosatroyer

I agree that when you gotta go you gotta go. But what I have a huge problem with is this. I have seen so many truck drivers,(guys) stop at a rest area or truck stop. Get out, walk back beside the truck, pee on the ground,then turn around and walk into the building. Now excuse me but whatever happened to going inside to the restroom provided for that purpose? I’m not talking as a car driver,I’m talking as a truck driver. That is after all my job. I agree there are times when facilities are not available,then you do the next best thing. Personally I think the truck drivers need to clean up their act. Not just the pee bottles and trash. They need to start showing respect for others as well as self respect. Clean up the language. Why is it that some people cannot put together a sentence without every other word being the “f***” word?

As to the whores/prostitutes, well I have always maintained that there would not be a call for those girls to sell themselves if some of you fools would not be willing to pay for it.. Hello… Stop buying them, then the girls would have to get a real respectable job. I guess you guys have only yourselves to blame if there are lot lizards hanging around the truckstops.

Personally in 17 going on 18 yrs I have never hauled drugs, whores or even used a pee bottle. I do not take passengers with me. It is not allowed by the company.

http://twitter.com/Break1_9 Ben Lujin

I agree that the pee bottles are disgusting and should be disposed of properly. But I’ve witnessed car drivers toss their Mickey Ds trash out the window. Walmart sacks of who knows what. People tossing out their furniture along the highway, when they think no one is looking.
The world is disgusting. But truckers aren’t even 50% responsible.

BTW, I’m sure that plenty of people don’t understand the purpose of the pee bottles. It’s simple. Restrooms facilities are not always easily accessible to truckers. Sometimes, not at all (like when you’re at a shipper/receiver before they open). The vibration and jarring a trucker endures in these trucks, makes “holding it” extremely difficult if not impossible. A truckstop could be an hour or more away. And restrictive Hours Of Service Regulations may dictate that you can’t even legally go anywhere for several more hours.

I don’t know about you. But for me, when Mother Nature comes calling. You gotta answer it!

Hana

Where are the best roads? I live on a busy road – Summer Street in Boston; when the trucks fall in one of the many holes, they rattle so loud you think the world is coming down.

http://twitter.com/Break1_9 Ben Lujin

you should feel the road from INSIDE the truck! You’d discover a new appreciation for the fantastic suspension systems in cars!

Anna

Aren’t trains used it the US at all anymore? They seem to make so much more sense…

Glenn K.

Yes, but it’s a delicate balance. Trains can’t go nearly as many places as trucks can, and trains are better at carrying large quantities of things – small loads for local distribution are still left to trucks.
As the cost of fuel and labor fluctuate, the balance of freight between trains and trucks will shift. The higher the cost of fuel, the more trains may be favored.
And government subsidies play an important role. Government pays to construct and maintain roads, and operates airports, so the more government gives a fair break to the maintenance of railroads, the more options trains will have to carry the load.

Tina

Thanks for reminding us about the role of government subsidies ….

http://twitter.com/Break1_9 Ben Lujin

yes they are. And only if you don’t know what you’re talking about.

Glenn K.

How can you measure manufacturing in the us by general trucking activity? What about foreign made goods & materials? When ABC News went through a house & took out all the foreign made goods, there was practically nothing left!

http://twitter.com/Break1_9 Ben Lujin

foreign-made goods do not come from the interior of the U.S. And despite all of the manufacturing job losses in the U.S. We still, by and large, possess the largest manufacturing capabilities.
BTW, in 2006 freight volume in the trucking industry declined for the 1st time since deregulation. Now anybody that was paying attention could’ve predicted an imminent recession.
Most of what I haul, is made in America.
To be honest, my personal economy went into recession long before the rest of the country. And it began climbing out before anybodys, except them Wall Street folks.
Pay attention to the cogs in the supply chain and you’ll know what industry and our economy is doing.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_X3Z6OE5BMIXVJTBKLRJL2JOUMU HiltonE

I’m amazed that any trucker who has to navigate the Bruckner Interchange and Cross Bronx Expressway during a weekday afternoon doesn’t quit the next day.

Glenn K.

Years ago, it used to be the Bruckner traffic circle! That’s right – a rotary! Can you imagine?

g, Buffalo, NY

Yeah, driving in NYC is CRAZY!!!
I don’t know how truckers and bus drivers do it. Lanes are so narrow and people drive like maniacs!

Tina

I’d much rather drive thru the streets of Manhattan than on Route 95, Route 128, or Route 24 near Boston! At least the New York drivers — even the cabbies – know that they are driving a dangerous machine, and an expensive machine. There are entirely too many young innocents driving around Boston, filled with nothing-can-happen-to-me denial while they put everyone else at risk. I’ve said this a million times, AND I have spent a good deal of time as a NYC driver!

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_X3Z6OE5BMIXVJTBKLRJL2JOUMU HiltonE

Yup I remember the circle. Also, my buddies and I used to ride our bikes up Bruckner Blvd to White Castle before the main road became Bruckner Expressway.

http://twitter.com/Break1_9 Ben Lujin

I expressly refuse loads to the 5 boroughs and L.I., even though they pay slightly more. I just think that the added stress just isn’t worth it. But, that’s my view.

g, Buffalo, NY

I thought about becoming a truck driver, as the benefits are very appealing: traveling, seeing different places, I like driving.

But, being a woman my concerns were: safety and ability to fix the issues with the truck, if any arise.

How ARE women truck drivers doing out there?
Would love to hear from some on those two issues.
Thank you

http://twitter.com/Break1_9 Ben Lujin

There’s a growing population of female truckers out here. What’s your safety concerns? Truck repairs depend on who owns the truck. If you’re a company driver, the company is responsible for repairs and maintenance. And all fleets are required to have established maintenance programs.
I’m not a woman, so I won’t speak as such. but there are benefits and downsides to trucking, regardless of gender. Google Women In Trucking, to learn more about female-related issues.
Samsak50

Always be aware of your surroundings. Plan ahead the best you can to avoid unsafe situations. If you can’t be armed, many aerosols are a good for protection. Stay connected (CB, Cell phone, Qualcommm, internet) so you can get help in the event of a breakdown. Simple things you can fix if you are at all handy, most things will require a mechanic or an air wrench.
http://profiles.google.com/magdalenaxmaggie Maggie Magdalena

My mom’s a driver, has been for nearly 10 years.

She does mostly local deliveries (<500 miles/day, usually about 300), so you may want to consider starting there- you're never too far away from home. The company she currently works for takes care if the truck breaks down, so she just has to wait for a mechanic or designated tow truck.

I think she probably gets heckled at work as women would in male-fields, but I also think that after a while there's definitiely a brotherly comradeship that develops.

So, I say go for it
Rosatroyer

I am a woman truck driver. I am on my 18th yr of driving. I have taken a few yrs off and went back. You always have to be aware of your surroundings. At night if possible you never park clear in the back of the parking lots. It’s too dark and a bigger chance of being a target. As to the mechanics of the truck, my company is responsible for breakdowns. If I have a problem I call the boss and He will tell me what I need to do. If you do decide to drive.. Always have directions to your place of pickup or delivery so you don’t have to stop and ask. If nothing else have a phone number to the company.. shipper or receiver.

Absolutely do not get into a conversation on the CB that will get you into a predicament that you cannot get out of. Meaning if some guy starts a nasty conversation do not participate. It can get you into a world of hurt.

Just some food for thought. I always take God with me as my Pilot. I feel safe when I’m out there but I am always aware of my surroundings. Hope this helps..

Kamparob

Why are there no more cab over type trucks out there and what is going on with new wheel tire design eliminating the traditional 18 wheeler? Looks like singles replacing the double design.
ThresherK

Our trucker panelist has brought up quite the dirty little secret re regulation, big business and small business,.something to remember the next time a conversation veers to who and what is and isn’t “business friendly”.
Tina

“Hi” to all the truckers who are out there! It is always GREAT when you folks call in!

One time, a guy made a delivery to my house. We started talking, and I could soon see how interested he was in so many things, so I mentioned our local NPR station. He was SO ENTHUSIASTIC: “where is the station on the dial? I spend all day in my truck, I need to know this”, he said.

Then, maybe six months later I saw him at the local Clam Shack. I asked him if he were still listening to the local NPR station. “Yes”, he said! “It changed my whole day, my life!”

How cool is that?!

http://profiles.google.com/magdalenaxmaggie Maggie Magdalena

My mom is a truck driver and she’s developed some good relationships with radio hosts and DJs, it’s kind of weird; but then that’s all she does while she’s driving, listen to the radio.

Tina

Just from a small trip I was on to see family last month, I saw a small bit of what one trucker is saying right now. The rural poverty for miles and miles and miles to the east of State College, PA, was so sad. Wall Street should be ASHAMED!

There was just a PBS show on San FRancisco Bay; it’s in several episodes. This episode showed MASSIVE NUMBERS OF WORKERS pouring into newly created ship-building factories during that end part of the Depression that changed with the start of World War II. The sheer numbers of workers BUILDING was amazing to see. Wall Street has changed all that! Wall Street has changed all that! Wall sTreet has changed all that! Wall Street has changed all that! Wall Street has changed all that!

twenty-niner

Wall Street has changed all that!

Along with their partner in crime:

http://www.usa.gov
twenty-niner

And get ready to see the last industry that we are a net exporter in (besides weaponry) say adios with an Obama seal of approval:

“G.E. to Share Jet Technology With China in New Joint Venture”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/18/business/global/18plane.html

http://www.ostrichheadinsand.com/images/ostrich-head-in-sand.jpg

FleetAir

Do you take guest request?
http://twitter.com/Break1_9 Ben Lujin

Well, I’m sorry I missed the program. But there’s a wealth of landmines leftover just in the comments section. True, the Interstate system was primarily created for National Defense. But it’s secondary purpose was Interstate Commerce.
What we coulda and shoulda and what everyone else did, is just spinning wheels. And lamenting about wanting to go backwards is pointless.
Rail, when the economy is in full swing, is near capacity. And it can’t touch the amount of freight that moves by truck. Nor could it EVER replace trucks. It is highly inefficient, heavily subsidized, and unregulated for pollution.
I agree that we need to expand rail lines though….for public transportation!
Cut the automotive population on our streets and highways in half…and all of the problems you’re whining about, disappear. One full bus is more efficient, less congestive, and more “green” than 30-40 individuals in their own cars.
Hstimpson

Boy, “Ugly” is a real downer – he thinks everything sucks. Give us a break.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Sean-Lewis/100000866180774 Sean Lewis

one thing never changes, car drivers dont care

http://www.thought.org Kline

More than a little depressing; but then the Truth often is that way.
Anonymous

Willie “Ugly” Tessier had an interesting perspective on the economy.
I kind of agree with him that we are real close to tanking.
When you have thousands of people lining up for hours when Remote Area Medical sets up a free clinic in LA you know something is seriously wrong with this nation. When we have unions being demonized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the like of republican governors backed with millions from industrialist like the Koch brothers you know things are not quite right. The democrats just sit there and do nothing because it’s easy to just kick the can down the road. Mr. Tessier alluded to the deal with Mexico on letting their truckers and trucking businesses to cross the border for work. This is the worst idea since NAFTA. He was also right on the money when pointed the finger at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as the culprit in this insane deal. It’s all about killing the middle class, period. One thing that struck me about Willie “Ugly” Tessier was that he was telling the truth about what is going on out there on some level.

twenty-niner

As an investor, I like grass roots data much better than the economic pablum spewed out from the usual suspects. A couple of charts I like: Food stamp participation and Baltic Dry Index. Both look ugly.

http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Uploads/Graphics/171-0303111821-SNAP-January_0.png

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LBqeWAktNoU/TU3XyqbOgNI/AAAAAAAAAvs/EhRFg0kHBsA/s1600/balticdry2011edit.png

Bottom line, Democrats and Republicans are clue bags. We’ve spent 40 years de-industrializing and at some point we are going to pay the price. And it will not be pretty.

Anonymous

Both parties are playing political games while we are sinking.
You have to marvel at how Germany is doing pretty well on the economic front, and they have a semi socialized health care system and strong unions.

twenty-niner

You have to marvel at how Germany is doing pretty well on the economic front

Germany never bought into the idea of becoming a “service economy”. Somehow we did, advocated by economists and pols listening to economists. We will pay dearly for this mother of all mistakes, and it will hurt. The only politician I remember really advocating for American industry was Ross Perot, and he was continually scoffed at. He was right. Obama, who payed a modicum of attention to this issue on the campaign trail, has turned out to be a colossal disappointment.

FIREFIGHTER3917

being in that seat of them trucks for the last 16 years, i think that the big trucking companys need to stop moving freight for least a couple of days,along with other companys to force the goverment to drop fuel prices. need to repeat of the 1970′s where the trucker shut the nation down.for a week or so.and run the freight prices up , they have not change since the 1970′s. this nation is not thankful for the guys and girls that run up and down the road supply the stores in are country.the FIREMEN FROM NORTH CARLONIA
John Darger

What about the global energy consumption that this industry abets? Not as bad as air transport, which by bringing us mangos from across the planet, allows us to live like Queen Victoria, but at a huge cost in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.

These guys are mostly good guys, have picked me up when I’m traveling, etc., but arguably trucks rip up the road, and lot of the heavy stuff they transport should be done by rail, with short runs from rail depots.

In terms of adapting to the constraints that a shifting climate is going to impose on us, how are we going to move away from the kind of spread out production and consumption that trucking is an essential part of?

(Rapid bus transit should get most cars off the road too, but trucks are the vehicles that make roads so expensive. See George Monbiot’s HOW TO STOP BURNING THE PLANET, p 189)

Joannemcdonough76

how about just building better roads. i know its a crazy idea. or how about spending the money on the roads? another crazy idea? ei..albuquerque nm? why are there those vases in the median? what do they do to improve the road? or the 2 lamp things on the west side of the city on I-40? i could go on with just alburquerque and other cities in the usa.

Boxcar73

10 percent of the us is paved – why not add some interest to our travels. If we only spent money on road this place (US) would look like a mad max film. I have seen the pots and lights in Albuquerque and frankly think we should have more of these type items around. Quality of life is more important then perfect roads – the things we never even come in direct contact with – when was the last time you ran you fingers over some asphalt or told someone about a perfect piece of tarmac you saw?

John Darger

At a time when so many people are out of work, it is just plain rude to question our trucking system, if it is true as Mr. Perry says that trucker is the most predominant job after teacher.

But can we get to a point somewhere in the future where the best indication of the economy roaring back is not gas prices skyrocketing, and truckers ripping back and forth across the country.

And to close out publicly here, Go, Teamsters! And glad to hear about a woman candidate for president of this storied labor organization.
bob

excellent show. this is finally a show from on point that starts talking about the working class. the trucker who talked about what he sees around the country and the mood is what on point should report more of. please get with the working class. what about the end when the person talked about the mexican drivers driving into the country and staying the chamber of commerce wants.
Selvon Spencer

I am pleased with your show. It reminds me of my 3yrs out there working hard and seeing places for unfortunately, low pay. The poem is on point. Your guests were on point too. Except for the part about Mexican drivers. They should not be treated any differently than Canadian Drivers.