The Trucking Industry Wins on Election Night

November 2 may not have been a happy night for Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi, but those who make their living in the trucking and transportation industries were almost as happy as Republicans when the votes where tallied.

Why? Because several state transportation-related initiatives were up for public consideration, and most of them were decided in favor of the industry.

The results were not particularly surprising, given the mood of the electorate.

Initiatives proposing new legislation to regulate the trucking industry? Not this time, said voters who believe companies should have fewer hindrances to expanding and hiring new workers in this stagnant economy.

A vehicle license fee increase? Rejected. While large trucks would have been excluded from this California proposition, no one in the cash-strapped Golden State was in any mood for paying more for anything. Voters also allowed the Anaheim City Council to pass legislation prohibiting red light cameras or any automated traffic enforcement system. Similar propositions also passed in Ohio and Houston, Texas. Take that, Big Brother!

However, transportation issues did not achieve a GOP-like sweep.

Overall, however, the results can be summed up this way - if it cost more money, it was probably going to be voted down. Increases of as little as one penny on state taxes received a chilly reception from the electorate, even when the funds would be spent on such non-partisan objectives as improving education and building parks. But people who are looking for work, or who are struggling to balance their own budget while the nation's debt spirals out of control, had little patience for any government entity asking them for more money.