Get ready to fly boys and girls

I sure hope this is the fact, because a few days before X-Mas, I bought a 100 ounce bar of silver from a local shop. Silver prices had dropped quite a bit and I figured it was worth the investment. If prices go up, I could cash in sooner or later LOL

 

Don't see capacity and or demand changing enough to put a lot of upward pressure on rates.



I do want to believe though....................

 

Here ya go .... MSN Sales Article

If consumer condfidence is improving it hasn't manifested itself as of yet. My concern is excess inventory left over from the holidays will push itself up the supply train, result in less demand from suppliers and therefore the need for trucks

Even if capacity is static, if demand goes down, we can be in for a rough ride this year.

 

Talking about inflation. High inflation is here. In 2008 a gallon of gas was a $1.85, now it's 3.19. Inflation= 57.9%. Check your electric bill, tva fuel adjustment charge avgs around $40 mnth. If your electric bill is $100 add $40. Inflation=40%. Not to mention medical costs. Another example of inflation is by looking at what you buy in the store. They have raised the prices and made portions of food smaller. The era we are in now is reminiscent of the Jimmy Carter days. The only difference is interest rates are at there lowest instead of 21%. But, people are in more debt than they were back then. The best we will see in the future will be a stagnant economy. Unless our government reduces it's spending by a few trillion dollars which will free up more private dollars for investment. But that's in a dream world. Be thankful products still have to be moved regardless of the state of the economy. Best bet is to stay out of debt and let those who run there business off debt sink slowly into the history books.

 

I apologize to BBB for the slight detour in the thread, but I will try to tie it in to some of his original assertions by the end of this post.

Since I am currently sworn to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic, it is in my best interest (and of those whom I defend) to know our Constitution, study history, and prepare for what may come to pass.

Unfortunately, many Americans are not very good students of history - to the average person, 9/11 was 'forever ago' and drawing parallels between Vietnam and Afghanistan is akin to reading Sanskrit. Many cannot tell you, even generally, what time frame the Korean conflict took place in, or WWII or WWI for that matter. The Boxer Rebellion, Spanish-American war, and anything beyond that is not common knowledge now, either.

Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.

When you look at any form of government, you have complete totalitarian control at one end of the spectrum, and anarchy - complete lack of control - at the other end. We were formed as a Representative Republic, which is a lot closer to anarchy than totalitarianism. However, as we have 'progressed' (I don't use that term in a positive or negative connotation) especially from roughly the Woodrow Wilson administration onward, we have allowed more encroachment of government to include completely un-Constitutional rulings and 'ends justifies the means' political maneuvering.

One only has to study the Weimar Republic to see the parallels between 1920s Germany and our current economic situation. Do I think we will follow the same path as the National Socialist German Worker's Party at the end of the Weimar Republic? I pray to God we do not. However, do I think we could be headed toward massive inflation, perhaps even hyperinflation like the Weimar Republic? I do not have a crystal ball, but we have not averted the 'fiscal cliff' no matter what our politicians and the talking heads say, and I do not believe America is 'too big to fail'.

In my previous life as a corporate pilot, I traveled to Europe and experienced the different levels of socialism there. Spain, France, Germany, the U.K. (Great Britain and Ireland, mostly) all have varying levels of what I refer to as the 'nanny state.' I have also spent considerable time throughout Canada. I can pull up charts and post them of the various levels of 'freedom' in those various countries (social/political/economic), but I can simply say this: the United States of America is the most free out of all of them. Those other countries were nice to visit, but I always ended those trips being glad to go home and realizing just how blessed I am to have been born and raised in this country.

That sentiment, however, is changing. I think the one thing this past election - and perhaps some others in recent history - really showed was that Americans are losing the core spirit of what made us different than those other places. We used to know world history, and if not that, at least our own history. We used to be a melting pot, where people would immigrate to our country to become part of it - now, we are more like a tossed salad where certain ethnic groups are given protected status/catered to and create their own enclaves. We used to innovate - a little guy like Bill Gates could build a company like Microsoft. Now, the regulatory and tax burden would make his success extremely unlikely.

I know the American spirit is still alive and well - I would like to think I am an example of it. I know a lot of fellow owner-operators who have that same drive, rugged individualism, and spirit. I get the feeling from many who post here on TTR that the embers of liberty still burn bright despite the fact that our politicians continue to take us farther from the type of governance we were founded upon. I just don't know if we can help the situation and we can turn the corner, or if we wind up going the way of the Weimar Republic, or Greece, or towards some other unknown.

To tie in to what I wrote a few posts back - there is a great deal of uncertainty in the United States for those who are actually paying attention. The entire social, economic, and political landscape is much, much different than in years past. Like BBB said, we as small business owners have to be able to respond rapidly to the change around us, but I don't know if that will be possible in an increasingly regulated and increasingly taxed industry that we compete in. To look at our industry in the micro is to disregard the macro; i.e., to me it is impossible to have this conversation without looking at the bigger picture of what our government is doing (or, perhaps, what it is NOT doing).

I once again apologize to BBB for the drift...but hope that Danny gets the jist of where I'm coming from.

 

I concur.

If you want to run an expediter truck, now is the time.

 

It isn't really a big achievement, though. In fact it's a travesty. An embarrassment. A demonstration of just how serious a danger the American government has become to the American people. As Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia noted, "Something has gone terribly wrong when the biggest threat to our American economy is the American Congress."

 

I totally agree about the lack of really understanding how we became and destined to repeat the past. I also agree with BBB about consumer confidence because as most Americans are trying to "keep up with the Jones" they don't really pay attention to what is going on there therefore they will still spend and therefore huge corporations will buy steel and other bulk products. However one thing they do pay attention to is that little FICA guy that takes money away from their mall visits. If Congress doesn't wake up they will in turn wake up a lot people to the Republican plight to hold out in interest of the top 2%. Democrats are on the winning side of that argument and they're gonna milk it for everything it's worth. QUOTE
That sentiment, however, is changing. I think the one thing this past election - and perhaps some others in recent history - really showed was that Americans are losing the core spirit of what made us different than those other places. We used to know world history, and if not that, at least our own history. We used to be a melting pot, where people would immigrate to our country to become part of it - now, we are more like a tossed salad where certain ethnic groups are given protected status/catered to and create their own enclaves. We used to innovate - a little guy like Bill Gates could build a company like Microsoft. Now, the regulatory and tax burden would make his success extremely unlikely. END QUOTE ....A lot of people including myself who doesn't identify with any party could not see voting for a multi-millionaire who cared about nothing other than making a legacy for himself and assuring business as usual for Wall St. fatcats. This is why Pres. Obama won reelection and no matter who I voted for he is my President because I too took an oath to defend the Constitution from enemies foreign and domestic. Getting back to BBB's point a lot of O/O are getting out of the business and steering wheel holder companies can't keep employees cause their ###holes,therefore us true business owners aka O/O will thrive from their defeat...or atleast I hope so LOL! But, that's just my .02 cents worth and what do I know I'm just a dumb truck driver who barely has an 8th grade education who went back 12 yrs later and got a Good Enough Diploma