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Quote by: lsbskins1  Well, the tax on diesel thing is because the trucks do the most damage that requires up keep. As for not respecting truckers, that does truly suck. And they should be able to strike. That is the power of the strike for any organisation, the ability to make others hurt so that they feel your hurt. That may be too plain and simplistic, but it is essentially true. They are simply making you understand their importance in the market place. It should be a right that is unquestioned for at will employees. If your power as a member of the market is your labor, withdrawing that labor is your voice. No reason in the world that voice should be silenced. |
You know that the tax for diesel is inflationary beyond proportions? At 50 cents a gallon, that would be 75 dollars, per tank, per driver, assuming the average 150 gollon tank (that is the size of my dad's tank)
With the difference being around 50 cents less to make diesel, the highest the tax should bring it to is around 20 cents higher than the price of regular. But the price of gas is sitting at near a dollar higher on average (based on prices seen around Duval, Bradford, and Alachua Counties, FL)
That means they are taking a little less than a dollar for every gallon, almost half of the current Florida prices of diesel is pure and utter price gouging tax.
If someone can get me a list of the people who voted yes to these taxes, I would appreciate it.
I think that this is not only stupid, it is ludicrous and a blot on what is supposed to be a free market economy (ok, the bailouts are another blot, and not what we needed, I propose they should have been required to submit a plan of action and show steps of enacting them BEFORE getting money for the program. I am amazed that did not make it on the political blunders list on the Hannity New Years show. Anyways, back on topic.). I know this is prolly heard from several sources, but if we want the economy to stabilize, we need to take steps to alleviate the financial stress on the backbone of our economy. The owner-operator of an 18 wheeler is not just a big part of that backbone, he/she is the main way we transport things to our stores, where the government gets another good portion of money from sales taxes, especially in high-traffic seasons like Christmas and New Years.
Given the April event, this could balloon. In Jacksonville, Florida, Triple Crown, a company with mostly independent owner operators, has seen a triple growth in resignations from those independent drivers. According to my dad, the number one reason is financial difficulty. The Jacksonville station has lost enough drivers that they have to pay more for people to come in as long range regional drivers, which means the company loses more money and prices for transportation of goods must then go up. Triple Crown services goods for companies including Wal-Mart, GM, and several other big name companies. When their prices for transportation go up, those companies effected must then up the prices of their goods, costing us, the consumers, more money. Soon enough, freight companies who can't afford to continue business close down, lowering the market availability of jobs and services, thus decreasing supply and increasing demand, driving prices still higher.
This continues until we again see prices at the pump and in the store that are huge, except we can't blame OPEC or Iraq situations anymore. The blame can only be put upon our government, because they are not taking care of their economy. Where do you think Obama will look to get his money? The public isn't in the mood for more taxes. So the government looks at workers, instead. They aren't going to target unionized workers, because of the possibility of a strike. No, the first thing he will see are a neglected group of unrepresented people, shunned by society and a target of many stereotypes (The big fat drunkard who has no decorum ring a bell to anyone?).
The other option is that the truckers DO strike, without a union. This WON'T be pretty. You won't see a gradual increase in price anymore. No, it will rocket upward in a fashion to make the air traffic controller's strike look pathetic. Stores will be forced to close down. Big names might go bankrupt because they can't sell what isn't stocked. Our entire country will come to a grinding halt if the people of the trucker's association strike, because the independent contractor is 90% of all regional freight. Sure, trains get the stuff to the cities, but truckers make sure they get to the stores.
I don't want to sound like a doomsday preacher, but anyone with a pithy knowledge of the economic system knows that with drivers resigning, it increases workload and thus prices. If the drivers do strike, we are in trouble.
So, what do we do?
The only thing we can do. If that person can find a list of the voting politicians behind these taxes, then we start flooding anyone in our district, town, region, or state with letters for a reversal. The public has a right to propose a bill to lower those taxes.
Heck, we have a responsibility of our own. We are the voters. Without us, there would be no them. Call me radicalist, I really would not give a flying hoot. our responsibility to ourselves and our families, as well as this country, is to try to set this right.
good luck.