CREATING TRUCK OWNERS: THE DREAM IS STILL ALIVE
The Incentives Conversation – Nobody Wants to Have
From A Driver’s Perspective
Over the last several days, I have written about something that I believe sits at the center of trucking’s future but rarely receives the attention it deserves. First, I wrote about the part they never talk about. Then I wrote about how we create more truck owners. The more I thought about those articles, the more I kept coming back to the same conclusion.
It all revolves around incentives.
Incentives determine behavior. Incentives determine policy. Incentives determine what businesses invest in, what organizations fight for, and ultimately what kind of industry emerges over time. When I look at trucking today, I do not believe we are witnessing an accident. I believe we are witnessing the predictable outcome of incentives that have been shaping the industry for years.
One of the best examples is the lease-purchase debate.
For years, we have heard about predatory lease-purchase programs. We have seen investigations, lawsuits, documentaries, and countless stories about drivers who entered agreements only to lose money and walk away with nothing. Some of those criticisms are absolutely justified. There have been bad contracts, bad programs, and situations where people were set up to fail before they ever turned the key.
But there is a question hiding underneath that entire conversation.
If ownership is such a terrible idea, why do so many people continue chasing it?
If nobody wanted to own a truck, lease-purchase programs would disappear overnight. Nobody would sign the contracts. Nobody would take the risk. Nobody would be willing to sacrifice their time, money, and energy trying to build something of their own.
Yet the demand remains.
That tells me something important.
The dream is still alive.
Despite everything that has happened over the last decade, people still want independence. They still want ownership. They still want the opportunity to control their own future instead of spending an entire career working for someone else.
In fact, I see evidence of that every day.
Spend a little time watching what is happening in the hotshot industry. People are buying pickup trucks, purchasing trailers, obtaining authority, hauling cars, RVs, campers, equipment, and partial freight all over the country. Some succeed. Some fail. That has always been true in business.
The important point is that they are still trying.
The desire to own something has not disappeared.
The desire to build something has not disappeared.
The desire for independence has not disappeared.
What has changed is that much of the industry’s conversation no longer focuses on helping people achieve ownership. Instead, it often focuses on why ownership is dangerous, risky, or unrealistic.
That should concern anyone who believes trucking should continue providing opportunity for working-class Americans.
For generations, trucking represented one of the few industries where an ordinary person could enter with very little, learn the business, save money, buy equipment, obtain authority, and build something of their own.
Some remained one-truck owner-operators.
Some built small fleets.
Some built successful companies.
The path was never easy, but it existed.
Today, that pathway feels increasingly under pressure.
Insurance costs have exploded. Equipment costs have exploded. Regulations have increased. Compliance requirements have increased. Barriers to entry have increased. At the same time, larger carriers have become larger, consolidation has accelerated, and corporate influence throughout the industry has grown significantly.
Again, that is not an accident.
It is the result of incentives.
For years, the incentives rewarded scale. They rewarded larger fleets. They rewarded consolidation. They rewarded capacity. They rewarded finding additional labor pools. They rewarded corporate growth.
What they did not reward was creating more independent truck owners.
That distinction matters because ownership and labor are not the same thing.
Much of today’s trucking conversation revolves around labor. We hear discussions about labor shortages, labor supply, labor recruitment, labor retention, and labor costs.
What we rarely hear is a serious discussion about creating owners.
Where are the conversations about helping people become owner-operators?
Where are the conversations about making startup insurance more affordable?
Where are the conversations about creating financing pathways that help working people purchase equipment?
Where are the conversations about teaching business ownership instead of simply filling another seat?
Where are the conversations about protecting the pathway that once allowed an ordinary driver to become an independent business owner?
Those questions rarely receive the attention they deserve.
Instead, much of the discussion focuses on maintaining capacity.
When I look at many of the debates happening today, I cannot help but notice how connected they really are.
The lease-purchase debate.
The owner-operator debate.
The labor debate.
The immigration debate.
The safety debate.
The consolidation debate.
All of them connect back to incentives. For years, I have watched the industry search for additional capacity while independent operators continued disappearing. I have watched barriers rise for people trying to build legitimate trucking businesses while large corporate interests continued expanding. I have watched discussions about driver shortages dominate headlines while discussions about creating truck owners remained largely absent.
That should raise questions.
If trucking truly needs people, why are we not creating more American truck owners?
If trucking truly values opportunity, why are we not building stronger pathways from company driver to owner-operator?
If trucking truly values safety, why are we willing to aggressively enforce some rules while appearing far less concerned about enforcing others?
The recent attention being given to non-domiciled CDLs, English proficiency requirements, licensing standards, and enforcement issues has only reinforced those questions.
Regardless of where someone stands politically, equal standards should matter.
Consistent enforcement should matter.
Safety should matter.
Yet from my perspective, the larger issue is still incentives.
For years, the industry benefited from policies and business models that increased capacity. The question I keep coming back to is whether those same incentives came at the expense of the independent owner-operator.
While everyone was talking about filling seats, very few people were talking about creating owners.
While everyone was talking about labor, very few people were talking about independence.
While everyone was talking about capacity, very few people were talking about opportunity.
That is why I continue to believe the independent pathway matters.
An industry that creates owners, spreads opportunity.
An industry that only creates employees, limits opportunity.
One creates independence.
The other creates dependence.
This is not an argument against company drivers. Every owner-operator starts somewhere.
This is not an argument against growth. Businesses should be free to grow.
It is simply an argument for preserving the pathway that once allowed an ordinary working person to build something of their own.
Because despite everything that has changed, despite the regulations, despite the costs, despite the risks, despite the headlines, and despite the warnings, people continue chasing ownership.
The hotshot operators prove it.
New authorities prove it.
Every person willing to risk their savings and bet on themselves proves it.
The independent spirit that built trucking is still out here.
The dream is still alive.
The real question is whether anyone is still willing to fight for it.
Because if we stop creating owners, eventually the only people left owning anything will be the people who already own everything.
Will Cook
Just “A Driver’s Perspective”
June 15, 2026