The Automobile Subsidy
in [Drive]
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From: gpsman on 10 Nov 2009 11:28 On Nov 10, 10:17 am, Scott in SoCal <scottenazt...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > Last time on rec.autos.driving, Orval Fairbairn > <o_r_fairbairn(a)earth_link.net> said: > > >Slaves to the automobile??? Far better than being slaves to the > >fixed-guideway and somebody else's schedules! > > So I take it you drive everywhere you need to go, and never travel by > commercial aircraft? I like the way you are not embarrassed to attempt to ridiculously refute your own ridiculous assertions. ----- - gpsman
From: Jim Yanik on 10 Nov 2009 11:39 Orval Fairbairn <o_r_fairbairn(a)earth_link.net> wrote in news:o_r_fairbairn-8D414D.09283210112009(a)70-3-168-216.pools.spcsdns.net: > In article <680if5tdsm4dssulp1t6qp9db9e23uucs6(a)4ax.com>, > Scott in SoCal <scottenaztlan(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > >> Last time on rec.autos.driving, Mark Mathu <mark(a)mathu.com> said: >> >> >>>>You are absolutely correct. Instead of taking our money while our >> >>>>backs are turned, we would all pay that money directly and be >> >>>>fully conscious of every dollar we spend. The fundamental change >> >>>>would be this: roads, parking, highway patrol, etc. would no >> >>>>longer appear to be "free goods." People could finally make the >> >>>>correct economic decisions about which modes of transport to >> >>>>employ and when to employ them. The transportation system would >> >>>>be free to evolve naturally into an optimally balanced, optimally >> >>>>efficient one. No more all-you-can-eat buffet; no more tragedy of >> >>>>the commons. >> >>> >> >>>We would send land transportation back to where it was in the dark >> >>>ages. >> >> >> >>You mean the way we did with that other 19th century technology: >> >>the automobile? >> > >> >I don't consider the automobile to be "dark ages" technology. >> >> I don't consider the train or the bus to be, either. >> >> >Public involvement in land transportation (planning, building, >> >operating) has played a big part in commerce getting to the point >> >where it is today, and hence raising our standard of living well >> >above what we had 1500 years ago. >> >> Imagine how much higher that standard of living could be if we >> weren't all slaves to the automobile (not to mention dependent on oil >> from unstable foreing countries that all hate our guts). >> >> Owning and operating a car costs many thousands of dollars per year. >> Most American families own more than one. Imagine how much higher >> your standard of living could be if you could save the costs of >> owning, licensing, insuring, maintaining, and parking even one of >> your cars. > > Slaves to the automobile??? Far better than being slaves to the > fixed-guideway and somebody else's schedules! > > The automobile is a liberating device, allowing people to travel to > places THEY want to visit, WHEN they want to go, rather than depend on > some bureaucrat to determine those places and time for them. > there's a greater amount of vulnerability and risk when travelling by public transportation. People get robbed or worse while waiting for the bus or train to arrive,even get mugged while ON the bus or rain.They're also great targets for mass murderers/terrorists. And since the "progressives" don't want you carrying concealed weapons or trying to defend yourself.....they've made public transpo "gun-free" zones,except that the criminals don't pay any attention to that nonsense. Recall the guy on the NY subway who had 4 "kids" with screwdrivers try to rob him,or that Colin Ferguson guy on the LIRR. -- Jim Yanik jyanik at localnet dot com
From: Brent on 10 Nov 2009 11:43 On 2009-11-10, hancock4(a)bbs.cpcn.com <hancock4(a)bbs.cpcn.com> wrote: > Today we're slaves to the expressway--which is a fixed guideway--and > traffic. We are forced to schedule our trips to avoid traffic jams. > > Many people must leave for work at extremely early hours, arriving far > earlier than need be, so as to beat traffic and find a parking space. > > They have no other choice. Because of the way driving is done in the US, not because of driving itself. Driving is screwed up considerably by the controlling efforts and the dumbing down imposed by our dear leaders.
From: jim on 10 Nov 2009 12:15 Larry Sheldon wrote: > > jim wrote: > > > > hancock4(a)bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > > > >> Today we're slaves to the expressway--which is a fixed guideway--and > >> traffic. We are forced to schedule our trips to avoid traffic jams. > >> > >> Many people must leave for work at extremely early hours, arriving far > >> earlier than need be, so as to beat traffic and find a parking space. > > > > Many drivers don't grasp the concept that good public transportation is > > to their benefit. It could mean less traffic congestion. > > As I understand it, it is like Gore, et alia, on "carbon reduction" (or > what ever what ever ther term du jure is).... > > Get everybody else to ride the subway, so they won't have their cars in > my way. Well thank you for making my point about grabs in a barrel. You haven't the slightest clue how you're going to get out of the barrel. The only thing you know is you aren't going to let anyone else get there ahead of you. If what you say is true (and it may well be) that would make Al Gore's reasoning capacity as poor as yours. If Al Gore has the roads all to himself who's going to help him pay for their maintenance? The infrastructure upkeep to keep public road system available to him is in excess of 100 billion a year - do you think he can afford to pay for it? Do you think the crabs are going to help pay for something they no longer perceive exists for their benefit. -jim
From: hancock4 on 10 Nov 2009 12:56
On Nov 10, 10:14 am, Scott in SoCal <scottenazt...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > There was a time in this country when public transit operated on 5- to > 10-minute headways and went to places that the majority of people > needed to go. The only reason it's no longer like that is because the > government began subsidizing the private automobile and smothering > transit. A simple policy change would start the pendulum swinging back > the other way. Exactly. We had a popular high speed rail line and the govt condemned it and used the ROW to build an expressway in its place. This was called "progress". The highway became a death trap. It was full of traffic jams. People missed the rail line, but then it was too late. |