Thinking about trucking for a living

Welfare is a misnomer.

A illegal alien stood in Searcy AR at the DHS last year with 5 kids and one in the oven. By the time the DHS finished issuing her and her boyfriend the benefits her income went from nothing at all to approx 38000 per annum cash and other programs enrolled.

Disability of which I am on, SSdI is specifically for those few workers too sick or disabled to continue on in the primary occupation medically. They are declared disabled and since 1966 depending on their wage history over lifetime they get a certain amount per month. They are reviewed and challenged often. But they ARE allowed to work a limited time each month for a limited amount over benefits without losses in same. Most do like I did.

There is about 15 million workers too bad off to continue working on the rolls.

You DO NOT THRIVE on those benefits. They generally are a range per month such as 700 dollars. To work out a budget, housing (HUD etc) and arranging medicare and other benefits that become opened up to disability people it makes life a little more tolerable. At some point at 62 to 70 you are converted to regular SS. Unless you are Railroad. You can have railroad or SS but not both. If you are a VET you double dip both SS and VA. But not disability SSdI and VA disability (Which at 100% becomes a income of about 2970 a month.)

There is SSI, but primarily deaf, mentals and other children or adults who cannot function in society with a extreme narrow range. If any of your income exceeds 765 a month your SSI is zero. Flat zero.

No one likes to be on the dole. I don't but I do my best to continue to contribute and do some work where possible. Unfortunately my current medical panel with the narcotics etc prohibits me from driving or even being at the work place at all. If I cannot pass a drug screen, to the employer I have no value to them.

One thing that is very very important to me. That my doctors don't yet understand. I want to fix the medical problems and get back out there if at all possible. Science advances little by little each year. We enjoy certain things that my grandparents and myself growing up as a child never dreamed of in our day. So quality of life and the possibility with spare parts installed etc on the body to replace bad parts will eventually create a situation where it's possible to get back on the road again. We'll see how it goes.

What really gets me more than anything are lazy people who think they can abuse the system and lay on the sofa through devious or deception means to illegally receive what does not belong to them.

I'll die a trucker. Every day I examine the rigs going by, the flatbeds for the tarps, securement, reefers for the fuel level and so on But I am working on that. I aint done yet. So I lead by example. What little there is in my own harebrained world.

 

Do you have the ability to take the additional schooling you'd require? Are you willing to move to another job market? I can't see Toronto being the best place to look for office work in an environment of tons of young blood.

I would say your assessment of ageism is likely true, considering the young employees would be less willing to talk back to their managers and question their instructions. Plus, there is a huge influx of immigrant labour in those kinds of sectors in the southern Ontario region, so they could likely pay them less too and they wouldn't complain.

I feel like I might have come off a bit harsh with my post, and am sorry if it seemed that way, but I don't like how the truck driver training industry is trying to pull the fleece over everyone's eyes these days, and sell a driving job as something so easy anyone can do it.

I got into this because I love to drive. I actually discovered I loved to drive for a living at a previous job doing regional piece deliveries in southern Manitoba driving a 5-ton and cargo van. The reason why I left that job was because the pay was too low for what I did even though I loved doing it and the people I worked with, and I was interested in scaling it up to big trucks.

Now this spring will be 4 years as a professional driver. I still barely know anything mind you, but absolutely love what I do and wouldn't want to do anything else.

 

The stories of drug dealers and ladies of the evening are largely a thing of the past. For example. A place I go through is Gary Indiana. The truck stops at exit 6,9,15, you can find entertainment. But it's not like it's rampant. If you stay even only a few miles away at exit 22, much quieter. Things you learn as you go. West Memphis is another example. (Worse).

Being a truck driver is more like being a problem solver. You have to figure things out every day, all sorts of different stuff so you can get your job done. Could be how to get through tight streets or customers yards. Stupid dispatchers. Dot give you a hard time for something stupid. Don't have any accidents with the endless supply of kamikaze 4 wheelers. How to get a customer to load or unload when some minor issue arises and at first it appears it will take an act of God to make it happen but you can see a way to get it done. The list is endless.

It can be an enjoyable career. It can also be your worst nightmare. You have to stand up for yourself in a lot of situations. Or you will get chewed up and spit out. That's not to say be a total dork about stuff. Just learn when you're getting the short end of the stick and stand your ground.

 

That is a double edged sword.
If you get your cdl and decide trucking isn't for you, you may have a difficult time collecting any welfare etc. They will say what were you in a coma? Truck drivers can walk into a company and say give me a job. They will get one somewhere. The difficulty might be if you go out and wreck a bunch of trucks and insurance says you aren't insured anymore. So finding unemployment benefits may prove more difficult as a cdl holder.

 

I tell you exactly what you can do, and wait until you get a load of THIS....

If you know someone stranger or whatever with minimum details such as name, how you know that person and so on and what that person has done to brag about fooling Dear Uncle Sam, you pick up the phone to SS and talk to them about that freeloader.

IF the investigators DO find fraud YOU get a percentage of the overall fraud. If someone is abusing SS for 10 years that has become possibly a 150,000 case for which you STAND to earn 15,000 as your reward for stopping that mess by allowing the SSA investigators to get started. They go to Federal Jail and have to pay back all of it and so on.

I tell you something else. When society deemed me unemployable my wife looked me over and said this is not what I married for. That sparked a converstation which took time. We both literally took on caregiving and certain other new ways of working locally and learn new things besides trucking. With the added joy of working with actual company high level executives and their families who have suffered dementia etc. Our understanding of trucking helped alot.

You wake up, give thanks to God for a beautiful day, rain and all. Take care of yourself then go forward and do what you can related to work, positive daily chores or helping other family members or strangers etc. Life is not over when the Judge says you are disabled. No way.

IF you have a strong spouse and both of you believe that everything is in order, then you two will find a way to do better.

Good luck.

 

Yeah, the whole "shortage" thing is a problem in both Canada and the US. Lots of experienced drivers in the US hung up the keys when the ELD mandate hit, and more and more are doing so because no one wants to pay drivers what they deserve.

We are literally making the same wages drivers were in the 1980's (in some cases, even less money now) but every other industry has seen increases due to inflation. Not so much for us. We should be making in excess of $100,000/year.

But this comes with a clarification, a lot of trucking companies are taking a lot of work away from drivers. Back then, a driver was responsible for actually doing maintenance on the truck, and keeping track of a lot more paperwork, in addition to their driving responsibilities.

Keep doing some research, look at other possibilities and stay positive. Unemployment for people willing to work and contribute to society is a horrible thing. Don't be afraid of EI benefits if you can get them, that's money you've paid into to help you get through a financial restriction. Once you can find work, you'll be able to return what you've used.

 

The taking away of maintenance was likely driven by 2 factors
-drivers too lazy (not my job)
- have a crash and the liability associated with having someone not a certified mechanic doing a repair
And simply market forces. Companies aren't getting rich. Drivers aren't either. Both sides just keep bellyaching about the other. Rarely do people do anything about it. Round and round she goes.