The Government’s War On Long-Haul Truckers

Intrusive new regulations might actually make our highways more dangerous.

Manuel Hernandez is not a complainer. But lately, he’s got a lot to complain about. Excessive government regulations are making it harder and harder for him to earn a living. And he’s not sure what he can do about it.

Hernandez is not an energy executive being hassled by the EPA, a banker trying to cope with Dodd-Frank, or a doctor getting nickel-and-dimed by HHS and Obamacare; he’s a long-haul trucker. And his story is one all Republicans running for office should know, because it personifies our government’s war against a large category of middle-class workers who make our economy hum.

Readers of the Wall Street Journal met Hernandez in his truck somewhere on Interstate 10 between El Paso and Los Angeles, thanks to a superb piece of reporting by Betsy Morris last week. This first sentence caught every reader’s attention: “Manuel Hernandez is one of a vanishing breed: a professional long-haul trucker.”

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