Letters: Not Made in the USA, Ridiculous Late Fees

Not Made in the USA

Every day, we hear on the radio, TV and various websites that the American people are angry about the economy, job losses and the high unemployment rate in this country. Many Americans are angry at the current administration for not correcting the situation quickly. Being extremely impatient and wanting immediate gratification has become a way of life in America — so much so that it distorts our perception of reality.

I just finished reading a book written by a University of Massachusetts professor regarding the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs in New England’s Connecticut River Valley. The story, statistics and results cited in the book are unbelievable. It is about the exportation of American jobs by our major corporations to foreign countries — in particular Mexico and China, but many others as well — for cheap labor, larger profit margins and larger returns on stocks.

Although well-intentioned, when Americans demand “jobs now!” they are not facing the reality of life in the United States today — or placing the blame where it truly belongs.

The jobs left America by the hundreds of millions mostly under the years of the previous administration, not the current administration, which inherited the unenviable task of turning our economy around.

In December 2007, before the newly elected president even took office, the major corporations of America already had announced the incremental layoffs they had planned for the coming year — and they followed through with them.

To this day, American jobs are continuing to leave for foreign countries. The buildings are closed and boarded up, if not torn down completely. The machinery has been moved out or scrapped. The raw materials for American products and the finished products made by American workers no longer are being hauled by U.S. trucking firms within this country.

There is no way to turn this situation around quickly and create “jobs now!” as Americans demand. It’s closing the proverbial barn door after the horse has gone. It took years to arrive at this point, and it will take even longer, if ever, to correct it.

Our current economic condition is the result of big business, which has lacked responsibility and true patriotism, along with a House of Representatives and Senate that have battled along party lines for their own special interests and consequently have become totally ineffective when it comes to doing what is best for America.

We should be asking ourselves: What kind of government and corporate structure would set out to ruin its own country from within?

Americans out of work mean no tax dollars coming into municipal, state and federal governments. That leads to governments that can’t afford police, firefighters or teachers, leading to more layoffs and even greater unemployment.

Add the costs of two major wars to the equation and you do not need a Master of Business Administration degree to figure out the problem.

What Americans need to do now is to be aware that these job losses and economic dysfunctions did not begin in the past two years. We need to ask ourselves: When was it that we stopped seeing “Made in the USA” on the labels of the items we buy? And who was in power then?

Frank De George

Retired Driver

Westfield, Mass.

Ridiculous Late Fees

I received an e-mail this morning from a shipper offering loads. The loads paid OK, but the money was nothing to brag about. At the bottom of the e-mail, there was a note saying there would be a $2,400 late fee on tardy deliveries.

Just who do these people think they are? The load did not pay even half of that.

The dockworkers at their facility are surely not restricted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in the number of hours they can work — unlike our drivers. They are diligent about making sure we arrive at our appointment on time, only to have us sit around until they are ready to load or unload their own product.

Trucking has become more time-sensitive than ever before, and it’s time we all changed our billing structures to reflect the importance of time on our business.

I propose that all companies governed by the hours-of-service rules change their billing methods to the following:

• Bill an hourly rate from the loading appointment time until the bills of lading are in hand — no free time.

• Mileage rates from shipper to consignee would remain as we do now.

• Bill an hourly rate from the delivery appointment time until signed (free and clear) bills are in hand — no free time. If there is OSD (overage, shortage and damage) of any type, the billing clock keeps ticking until the mileage rate kicks back in or the carrier is cleared of any further responsibility with that load.

More than ever before in trucking, time is money. It’s time we all started billing our customers for the time they are occupying our equipment, moving or not.

Curt Morehouse

Office Manager

W.N. Morehouse Truck Line Inc.

Omaha, Neb.