Editorial: What’s at Stake in the Election
This Editorial appears in the Nov. 7 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.
There’s a lot riding on the U.S. presidential election this week, and it’s not just the choice between Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton that will make a difference for the freight transportation industry.
On the ballot are scores of state and local measures that could raise more than $250 billion for transportation investments, according to the Eno Center for Transportation.
Even though both presidential candidates have promised to spend more on infrastructure, it is up to Congress to decide how the money is spent and, more importantly, where the money comes from to pay for improvements that we all know are absolutely essential to supporting economic growth.
The House and Senate also are where changes in tax and trade policies will be made.
As Chris Spear articulated in his first speech as president of American Trucking Associations at the federation’s Management Conference & Exhibition in Las Vegas last month, any push for tax reform needs to take into account that trucking pays a higher corporate tax rate than other modes of transportation.
“I’m not suggesting others pay more, but I do believe we should pay less,” Spear said. “Shaving just 5 points off our corporate tax rate would allow you to make critical investments in your business and in your employees.”
Trade also looms as a major issue for elected representatives. Both presidential candidates have been critical of prospective trade deals, and one has promised to tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement. Trade and trucking are inexorably linked and, as an industry, we must be prepared to work with the new Congress to prevent the passage of laws that could reverse decades of progress in raising living standards by facilitating global trade.
Maybe the most important issue in the election for trucking is how it will shape the regulatory environment, at the federal and state levels.
Key congressional leaders, including House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, are facing tough re-election bids.
At stake are regulations ranging from electronic logging devices and speed limiters to carbon dioxide emissions and autonomous vehicle guidelines.
While few experts expect to see an end to the political gridlock, the election nonetheless represents an opportunity both to influence the process and to encourage lawmakers to carry on the fight to do something of consequence for the country and for the industry that citizens depend upon to deliver the goods they need.
