[lowrange]

Originally Posted by poster

I'm wondering if there's a theory re spending basically all the savings and investments that one has based on inflation, because your money will buy more now than it will after inflation. Like now is the time to set yourself up for whatever you can.

People do this all the time, buying gold is the main hedge against inflation. I guess it depends on how much cash you are sitting on.

I caught a glimpse of CNN and they had a panel of guests including David Gergin and I don't remember who else. I was interested to hear they are saying what I've been saying for awhile. We have to get used to new economic realities, the debt of the federal government now almost ensures that the America of the future won't be like the America of the past. They were saying we're accustomed to 3% GDP growth, but something like 1% will probably be the case for the unforeseeable future.

Bottom line, the average American will be poorer and we'll have to adjust out lifestyles to reflect that.

The good news is that much of what we live for in this country has been vanity. $35,000 SUVs that get 19 mpg really never made sense, IMO. Everybody had to have that look, though. We've been a rich country and we've been able to spend a fortune on the way we look. Much of it was just vanity. We can still have things like faith, family, food, housing, peace, conversations, goals and dreams. The other stuff though, a lot of people just won't be able make that showing. I think trucking will be worse than it was in the past but compared to how others are doing, trucking might look better than ever. The worst stress will come upon those who refuse to change and refuse to accept the new realities.

[Oso]

Originally Posted by lowrange

The good news is that much of what we live for in this country has been vanity. $35,000 SUVs that get 19 mpg really never made sense, IMO. Everybody had to have that look, though. We've been a rich country and we've been able to spend a fortune on the way we look. Much of it was just vanity. We can still have things like faith, family, food, housing, peace, conversations, goals and dreams. .....The worst stress will come upon those who refuse to change and refuse to accept the new realities.

IMHO the biggest problem is the suburbs, which are designed for single families who can afford cars. Back in the day my grandfather took the streetcar to work - which was a few kilometers away. It's pretty hard to adjust your lifestyle when there are no more streetcars and your office/plant/store is now 35-50 kilometers away.

Anyway, I was speaking to a broker this week who said that rates in Ontario are in the $1.50 cdn range - and that it costs $1.60 to run a truck. Is that about right?

[allan5oh]

You're absolutely right lowrange, too much completely discretionary spending. The majority of the job losses up to this point have been linked to discretionary spending, either directly or indirectly. Unfortunately many of these jobs are auto industry related. Just goes to show that the average American does NOT need a new car every 3 years!

If instead the average American reigned in their discretionary spending, and instead used it to pay off debt, expand their business, or invest, the economy would be much more stable. Sure some manufacturing jobs would be lost, but much better jobs would replace it like science and technology.

[heavyhaulerss]

I.M.O. this recovery as far as trucking goes will be a lot better than all other recoveries before it. the reason.. for the last 12 - 15 years any one could get financed for a truck. you may had to go a different route , like refinance your home, or take out a loan on your home via home equity, but the point is credit was available to anyone. not so anymore. with so many repo's & the credit crunch, buying a truck may be like trying to buy a new home now & may be that way for years. so when rates & freight pick back up, you just may not have every "Joe " able to go back out & get a truck.

[lowrange]

Originally Posted by Oso

IMHO the biggest problem is the suburbs, which are designed for single families who can afford cars. Back in the day my grandfather took the streetcar to work - which was a few kilometers away. It's pretty hard to adjust your lifestyle when there are no more streetcars and your office/plant/store is now 35-50 kilometers away.

Anyway, I was speaking to a broker this week who said that rates in Ontario are in the $1.50 cdn range - and that it costs $1.60 to run a truck. Is that about right?

Yeah, that's a good point about how the country is structured. You hear about experiments to build communities that foster more efficient and healthy lifestyles, but I think they are few and far between. Things easier to convert to include having grandma move in, staying home and going to a community college, and like Allan says, cutting out all the discretionary spending.

Let's see, that $1.60 CDN is about $1.44 USD, I believe. Probably somebody else could answer this better, somebody who has their own authority and pays cargo insurance, has their own trailer, knows Canadian taxes and expenses... Then, there is the issue of backhauls- is that a headhaul rate or a backhaul rate...

Myself, I'm still running on decent margins down here in the US. It's not the big money guys used to make in my sector, but I don't have to wonder if I am burning up my energy and my truck for nothing. I don't take my well for granted, however. It could dry up just like anything else.