Bernie Sanders Wants to Get Rid of All Long Haul Diesel Trucks, if Elected

If there’s one political candidate who seems a bit radical in his stance, look no further than Bernie Sanders. Whether or not one agrees with him, I think that most of us can agree that some of his proposed changes are rather drastic. Some of them might be noble but the sheer volume of them can seem overwhelming at times. Perhaps the most controversial legislation he has proposed revolves around the cars and trucks on the roadways.

One of the latest ventures that he’s looking to embark on is removing long-haul diesel trucks from roadways. If elected in 2020, Sanders will put the plan in action, says Freight Waves. The proposal comes as a part of the $16.3 trillion “Green New Deal.”

The deal looks to limit carbon-based energy sources. The effort is rather expensive and has been met with great skepticism by the Republican Party.

Sanders has based much of his campaign upon trying to reduce America’s contribution to world pollution. Under this plan, all transportation would be replaced with renewable energy sources by the year 2030. No carbon emissions would exist in transportation, manufacturing, or anywhere else by 2050. I think we can all agree that fewer emissions would be better.

While the goal is noble, it certainly comes with plenty of challenges and roadblocks, though. In a quote from Sanders, cited by Freight Waves, he tells us that “We will build affordable, reliable, quick and efficient public transportation, and high-speed passenger and cargo rail. And we will create millions of good-paying, unionized jobs building the automobile fleet of the future.”

As with any other major restructuring like this, the main question is how we are going to pay for it. Sanders plans on taxing and charging fees to the fossil fuel industry. Sanders also plans on taking money away from defense to help foot the bill for the effort. Lastly, these capital generators come alongside higher taxes for the wealthy and corporations.

He will then use this money to power his efforts.

Currently, Sanders trails Joe Biden in polling for the Democratic Party.