Say What?

Question: Is the country going in the right direction?

Dustin Link, 24, Boyceville, WI  
Professional driving experience: 6 years  
“I don’t know. I really don’t. There’s a lot of things they need to straighten out or there are going to be a lot of people going under, in and outside of the trucking industry.”

Mike Roberts, 48, Oklahoma City, OK   
Professional driving experience: 20 years  
“With Obama, no, I don’t think so. But I don’t have the answers to all of the economic problems we’re facing that he’s trying to deal with. I would definitely close the borders. We’re over-populated as it is. They talk about birth control in China. Maybe we ought to start talking about birth control here because we are definitely overpopulated, big time, and that’s destroying America in my opinion.”

Robert Peroutky, 58, Lyons, IL
Professional driving experience: 15 years    
“I think it’s going downhill. Wall Street and those hedge funds, whatever, they broke the country. Then they give them loads of money to fix what they broke, and all they want is more. The greed is unbelievable. I worked for GM for 36 years and retired, but now I have to go back to work because that party is just about over.”

Ken Haag, 55, Slippery Rock, PA  
Professional driving experience: 37 years  
“It’s bad now, and it’s going to get a lot worse. We cannot keep bailing companies out the way we’re doing. All of that debt is going to cause a lot of problems down the road.”

James Pate, 55, Utica, KY  
Professional; driving experience: 21 years  
“I have hope that Obama can turn things around. Our economy has always been a roller-coaster ride. As bad as things are now, they will turn around and they will get better. Truckers, however, are going to face a constant battle. When the economy does turn, then fuel prices will surge. Our profits will get better because of the fuel surcharges, but it will be offset by the high cost of fuel, so we still won’t make any money. It’s taken me 21 years to come to my senses and realize that’s just how it is. I’ve accepted it.”