Fuel Pain Prompting Some Truckers to Park

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i'd try to write a comprehensive response to the sad truths contained in the article above, however i am too busy trying to dig a tunnel under the fence and find a way to survive without being penned up with this "free"corn....
wha happened to our "better dead than red" slogans of the 50's and 60's'......
now we're fed rations of "do do" daily and our only response seems to be taking another anti-acid pill....
God Help us all.....

bob peterson of MD 11:32AM April 28, 2008

May it be the mom and pop truckstops or the Independant truckers, yes it is the goal of the corporations to push these out of business and it seems with the blessing of our ELECTED government officials. When are we, the people of the United States of America. going to stand up and say enough is enough. We put them in office, then why can't we put them out off office. Greed has taken over those in power and the people are nothing. You know that the sad part is if it hadn't been for the mom and pops and independants, the backbone, the corporations wouldn't be nothing.
A Friend sent this to me and it fits in to what is going on.
GIVE THIS SOME HEAVY THOUGHT:
There was a Chemistry professor in a large college that had some exchange students in the class. One day while the class was in the lab the Prof noticed one young man (exchange student) who kept rubbing his back And stretching as if his back hurt.
The professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student told him he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his country's government and install a new communist government. In the midst of his story he looked at the professor and asked a strange question. He asked, ' Do you know how to catch wild pigs?'
The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line. The young man said this was no joke.'You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come everyday to eat the free corn. When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming. When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence. They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in The last side. The pigs, who are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat, you slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd.
Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught. Soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their captivity.
The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening to America. The government keeps pushing us toward Communism/Socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine, drugs, free medical, etc. while we continually lose our freedoms - just a little at a time.
One should always remember 'There is no such thing as a free Lunch! Also, a politician will never provide a service for you cheaper than you can do it yourself.
Also, if you see that all of this wonderful government 'help' is a problem confronting the future of democracy in America, you might want to send this on to your friends. If you think the free ride is essential to your way of life then you will probably delete this email, but God help you when the gate slams shut!
'A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have.' ....... Thomas Jefferson

LINDA LEWIS of SC 2:06PM March 31, 2008

Your comments are spot-on. The post by julieofMO illustrates how fascism goes so easily hand-in-hand with racist scapegoating.
People who point the finger at individuals of other races and cultures entirely miss the true and much larger problem in the ungodly alliance between government and big corporations. The fuel taxes favor big corporations, who can more easily absorb the excess tax, squeeze out the little guy, no matter what his color.
People get outraged about social programs and benefits that are available to all, regardless of race, while completely ignoring the hundreds of billions that get funneled into publicly-funded tax breaks, credits and subsidies for corporations, the corporate welfare programs that make it impossible for individuals to compete. That is the bigger and more vast problem.
Finger-pointing at people of other races and cultures, folks just trying to earn a decent living like everybody else -- just like our grandparents and great grandparents did when they arrived in the US -- is an incredibly effective distraction from the truth: that Big Corporations are stealing control of our government right out from under us, illegally recording our phone calls and internet messages and stealing our ability to do business independently, with hardly a peep from the individuals most directly affected.
It's a darn shame.

LiveFreeorDie of NY 1:12PM March 30, 2008

Communism? No, it's Fascism. Big difference.
Communism is when all profit is divided equally among all citizens. Fascism is when the Government is controlled by For Profit Corporations and not the citizens. Fascism allows corporations to make a buck using the government.
So, are you and I and our neighbors going to see any $$ in our own pockets if the Independents are driven out of business and replaced by people willing to work for nothing? Of course not. Only the big Corporate Fat Cats are going to reap the profits. That's why it's Fascism and not Communism.

InformYourself of WA 3:08AM March 30, 2008

the feds and large companies want the independents out. soon only arabs and mexicans will run the highways because they have housing assitance, medical assistance, this is just the next step to communism. they dont want indepents out there, this just a way to suppress wages so that the global economy can take affect in america, welcome to the global market and new wave of communism. stop exports of all of our rescources and biodeisel, stop the mexicans from suppressing wages. it doesnt matter what you do for a living your not going to make it through the flucuation of the dollar on the global market

julie of MO 10:45AM March 29, 2008

As the writer of the Traffic World editorial you cite, Marianne, I'd like to make it clear that I do empathize with the frustrations of truckers like Dan Little, even though I think a "shutdown" of the type reportedly discussed would have very little affect on the economy, or legislators and regulators in Washington. This latest sharp increase in fuel prices is just the latest in a series of cost increases that are squeezing small trucking companies and owner-operators, and for many it may be the last straw.
Truck repossessions increased 110 percent in 2007, according to Nassau Asset Management. Trucking bankruptcies are rising too, according to Credit Suisse.
It's very hard for truckers to "leave freight that doesn't pay at the dock," as some industry officials suggest. Unless that truck is in motion, carrying freight, the owner is losing money. For many small trucking businesses, I'm afraid the question is, "Do I lose more money if I take that load, or if I park my truck?" Bad options.
The costs of running a trucking business -- which include much more than fuel -- are rising at a rate that begs the question: Will there soon be room for independents and smaller businesses in the trucking industry, or only for companies with sufficient scale to bear these costs? Trucking could face a major realignment.
A point to note - many owner-operators do work for larger trucking companies under contract. Those drivers won't have the option to shut down.
Businesses that refuse to adequately compensate drivers for increased fuel costs are hurting themselves. Smaller businesses, in particular, rely on smaller transporters. If they fail, as you point out, those businesses and their customers will eventually pay.

William Cassidy of DC 5:25PM March 28, 2008