http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23436726/

I have no problem with letting them die off. There is no reason the gov needs to step in just b/c they can't compete with the big boys.

3/5/2008 2:04:05 PM

the same way that the government shouldnt step in for [insert any industry here]

3/5/2008 2:11:01 PM

It is just not their day. It is not just high diesel prices which are bankrupting the truckers. If higher costs was all it was then freight prices would increase and truckers would break even.

Their problem is that trucks are not the only way to move freight. They are now for the first time in decades facing competition from the railroads for shorthaul loads. Trains move farm more stuff with far less fuel, so as fuel prices rise railroads will undercut the rates of truckers in order to boost their market share.

So, the question is, do we want to keep moving freight on the highways or take this time to transition to a more rail centric transport system?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120179835382432337.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

[Edited on March 5, 2008 at 2:40 PM. Reason : lnk]

3/5/2008 2:39:26 PM

Transition to a more rail centric transport system. Less traffic, less wear and tear on the roads, less accidents from truckers faking log books and staying up 24 hours straight.

3/5/2008 2:49:29 PM

i think we should go with the way that can move farm more stuff.

3/5/2008 2:54:37 PM

i think we should go with the way that can move farm more stuff.

3/6/2008 7:09:24 PM

We already dump ridiculous sums of money into our rail system as it is. Why would we want to make ourselves any more dependent on them than we already are?

Besides, rail won't work for 90% of our trucking needs as it is. until we build a railroad across the back loading deck of every retail store and construction site in America, we have to keep our trucking industry working.

With that being said, I can't justify bailing out the truckers. They can bail themselves out by adjusting their trucking rates. Anyone that manages to go from making 50k a year to 11k needs a crash course in economics, or another job. The last thing he needs is a handout, because he'll just piss that away too.

3/6/2008 8:34:34 PM