TRUCKING COMPANIES FAIL AS FARMERS COLLECT GOVERNMENT BILLIONS

MRW1 GROUP PRESS CONFERENCE

(June 19, Jackson, MS)

The MRW1Group, one of the country’s most respected, prominent, influential and powerful transportation industry consultancies and think tanks issued a scathing statement late tonight highly critical of the recent passage of the 2008 Farm Bill. The CEO, Dr. F. Lee Flack, Ph.D, Esq., CDL, stood before reporters in the well appointed conference room at MRW1 Group’s headquarters here in Jackson. Dr. Flack is nationally renowned for his work advocating on behalf of the trucking industry and the hard working, unappreciated truck drivers of America. He has also been highly acclaimed for his cutting edge research in logistics theory, driver management and transportation economics.

Dr. Flack began his remarks, “This Farm Bill is one of the biggest, most blatant rapes of the United States taxpayers and plunders of the U.S. Treasury in recent memory. To say I am appalled by the passage of this bill would be a gross understatement. Every citizen should be outraged and, if any are interested to see who these billions of dollars are handed out to, ought to take a look at the web site of one of our strategic partners, the Environmental Working Group (EWG). They would be enraged to see how many millionaires have and will continue to receive money from this bill.”

Clearly agitated, the usually mild mannered, articulate Dr. Flack continued, “Why is the federal government giving some of these people your tax dollars? I’ll tell you why. For some of them the payments are so they will NOT produce. That’s right; our government pays some farmers not to farm. For years farmers, mostly in the upper Midwest have taken advantage of what is known as the “set aside program”. Farmers are paid to leave fields barren, to not plant crops supposedly as a conservation measure. Well, I ask you, what other segment of our economy is paid not to produce?”

The MRW1 Group represents an impressive list of trucking companies large and small. Flack added, “We have numerous clients barely surviving on two or three percent profit margins. Diesel fuel has increased in price 400% in the past two years. Folks, America’s need move by trucks. What has the government ever done to help the trucking industry during hard economic times? Nothing, that’s what, nothing. All the federal and state governments have done is find more ways to further squeeze the trucking companies, truck drivers and the independent operators. From increased tolls, staggering road use taxes and crippling regulations, the feds and states have done more to drive companies and owner/operators out of business than anything else. They should be ashamed.”

According to a wide array of industry statistics, over 95% of the goods Americans purchase, be they edible, household goods, automobiles, virtually every consumer good imaginable has, at some point in the distribution chain, been on a truck. Trucking is the literal backbone of our economy an, as such, is taking a beating on every front. Dr. Flack added, “Corporate giants like Simplot, ADM, Cargill, Monsanto, DuPont, and Dow Chemical, these agribusiness goliaths stand to collect millions from this farm bill. Farmers will do just fine as well. In the New York Times earlier this week, an Iowa farmer named Dave Timmermann was interviewed. He forgot to tell the Times that he’s been given close to $300,000 in farm subsidies in the past. This system is in dire need of true reform, total overhaul and, maybe, abolishment.”

Concluding his remarks Dr. Flack pointedly stated, “The MRW1 Group, from this day on, will dedicate all necessary resources to expose the waste, abuse and fraud of the so called Farm Bill. We will adopt as our mission to educate and inform the American taxpayer about the truths of grain farmers, Ethanol, soy bio-diesel and explain to them why the prices they are paying to feed their families have doubled in the last 9 months.”

Dr. Flack took no questions.