Photo:American truck (5952278556), cropped; Author:Moyan Brenn; Lic.:CC BY 2.0
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The trucking industry, America’s critical supply chain backbone, is being crushed under the weight of bureaucratic overreach and foreign exploitation. In an open letter to Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk, trucker Gord Magill highlights the failures of federal agencies like the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which prioritize compliance theater over real efficiency, safety, and fairness.
First, the so-called “driver shortage” narrative is a taxpayer-funded scam. Millions of dollars are funneled annually into trucker training programs that yield few long-term drivers while enriching corporate executives. This waste perpetuates a churning cycle of underpaid, undertrained rookies, increasing accidents and insurance costs. It’s time to let the free market correct this problem instead of subsidizing failure.
Second, Magill underscores the FMCSA’s impotence in tackling freight fraud and illegal labor practices. Issues like double-brokering scams and the exploitation of illegal immigrants rob hardworking truckers of their rightful pay. They also endanger public safety. Yet, these problems go unaddressed as regulators obsess over costly and ineffective electronic logging device mandates.
Finally, environmental mandates from the EPA have imposed draconian costs on truckers while achieving minimal impact. Emission systems drive up repair costs, cause downtime, and force small operators out of business. All the while, used trucks sold abroad promptly have these systems stripped. Instead of addressing inefficiencies like restrictive weight limits or wasted trucking capacity, the EPA doubles down on punitive measures.
Magill’s message is clear: government inefficiency is parasitizing an industry vital to America’s economy. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) must cut wasteful spending, end exploitative practices, and refocus regulatory efforts on practical solutions. By reining in this bloated bureaucracy, we can restore fairness, safety, and efficiency to America’s roads—before the wheels of progress grind to a halt.
This post originally appeared at https://www.phyllisschlafly.com/liberalism-and-conservatism/big-government/how-doge-can-help-truckers/