Poking fun at all the contradictions and inconsistencies of news stories could be a full time job because there seems to be an endless supply. It might be a deeply ingrained sense of humor that prompts me to look at industry articles with a wry smile but I know I am better off laughing than agonizing over what I read.
The National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission’s report on highway funding wants to implement a vehicle-miles-traveled tax. Their argument is based on their concerns that there will be less money collected on fuel taxes because of improvements in fuel efficiency.
For over 50 years, the federal fuel tax which provides funds for building and maintaining roads has the lowest collection and evasion costs. Yet the NSTIFC feels that this move towards fuel efficiency and cleaner-burning vehicles is going to threaten the tax base, enough to warrant the creation of yet another bureaucracy to implement and maintain a new, “improved” method of tax collection.
Here’s another instance of cross-purposes: At the port of Los Angeles, one of the busiest in the world, they wanted to collect Clean Truck fees from cargo owners who use pre-2007 diesel trucks when either entering or exiting the terminal. Since the price of green technology is exceptionally expensive, this means in order to “qualify” as a clean truck a company would have to pony up big bucks. In some cases, this made the carrier with higher payments unable to compete on rates.
In Georgia, the legislature remained at an impasse over a one-penny sales tax increase to fund road improvements in the state. Dubbed by business leaders as a campaign to “Get Georgia Moving,” the debate was hotly and acrimoniously contested to no avail. Despite the fact that Metro Atlanta is said to have one of the worse commuting times in the nation and stands in the middle of one of the busiest freight corridors, the legislative House was unmoved, and closed its 2009 session without a solution.
It can be extremely difficult to remain positive about the eventual turnaround on the economy when so much reporting has conflicting information based on guesses, trends, and wishful thinking. As important as it is for truckers to stay informed and be involved in their industry, it is also wise to take a long look at information that keeps changing.
This rough patch we are all going through, this dip in the road, is just one small spot on the highway of life. Find some humor in the political machinations, the unwieldy bureaucracy and the inequities of business. If you find you must rage against something in the industry and have constructive ideas, join the ATA or OOIDA where your passion for truth, justice and the American way can be heard. They could use a few more superheroes in their membership.
