This is bizarre.  Usually, when we talk about not being able to get gas, it's because we have a "shortage," however, this time it's because literally the trucks that deliver the gas to us have no drivers!

There is no excuse not to have a job right now

According to the WMUR report, about 25% of the fleet of trucks are left behind, just parked and waiting for someone to get behind the wheel.  This is just one industry that is hurting for workers.

Driver shortage hit before the pandemic

This is not a new problem for the trucking industry.  They had trouble finding qualified drivers even before the pandemic.  In an effort to keep them busy, some trucking companies were having their drivers haul boxes for Amazon.  Some older drivers took the pandemic as their cue to retire.

Do Truck Drivers Get Paid Well?

Holy moly, I should say YES!  I just looked at an employment ad for a CDL-A Owner Operator Flatbed OTR Truck Driver on Indeed.  I'm not sure what all that means, but I WILL say... it pays REALLY well.  Indeed has this job at $175 - 220K per year, with an excellent benefits package.

Why Does This Pay So Well?

It is a strenuous job and you may be away from home for days or maybe weeks at a time.  I remember our family being great friends with a long haul trucker.  He used to come see us when he was in town and his family had to be without him for weeks and weeks as he traveled across the country.

Can Anyone With a License Be a Truck Driver?

No.  You have to have special certification, including a commercial driver's license and weeks of training after being hired.

Why Don't More People Want To Be a Trucker?

Besides being away from home for a long time thing, there is the drug and alcohol testing.  If you fail, you don't drive.  Those tests eliminated about 60,000 drivers out of the National employment pool, so says the report from WMUR.

 

Will This Driver Shortage Bring Gas Prices Up?

YES.  The average price of gas is about $2.89.  BUT, if a retailer can't get gas, motorists are not going to stop not only to fill up, but they won't get that delicious drink or egg sandwich for their drive.

 

Go get yourself a job!

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Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.

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