5 ms·

As a Indian, convincing people not to buy cars is going to be very hard, if not impossible. Cars represent social status, and they are a big step forward in com

As a Indian, convincing people not to buy cars is going to be very hard, if not impossible. Cars represent social status, and they are a big step forward in comfort when traveling. Even if the public transport system improves drastically, the comfort and privacy that one gets in a car is unrivaled (remember that public transport, be it trains or buses, is always overcrowded). The general attitude among middle class, when discussing how unsustainable cars are, is - why do I, as a first time car owner, have to think about pollution and traffic when all first-world countries have enjoyed it for decades? I don't necessarily agree with that stance, although I understand it.

OscarCunningham 9y ago
Impose a tax on fuel that is enough to pay to repair the environmental damage. Then it doesn't really matter if the tax disuades car ownership or not. If it doesn't then you have the money.
- paulryanrogers 9y ago
  That also requires the will to spend the money on offsetting the environmental damage done.
  - OscarCunningham 9y ago
    That's technically a separate issue. If you spend the money on hospitals instead then the environment will get worse, but you have the hospitals. You should just try to spend the money wherever it's most effective. If the environment gets worse because of that then whatever you got in exchange must (by definition) more than compensate. I agree that spending money on the environment is a good idea, but it's still a separate cause. We could spend money on the environment even if we weren't taxing those who harm it.
- Karupan 9y ago
  India already has very high tax on fuel - https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-breakdown-of-petrol-price-in-India-and-how-much-of-it-is-taxes https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-breakdown-of-petrol-price-... The problem is that a huge percent of the population use two wheelers to get around and any hike in petrol prices will affect them adversely.

OscarCunningham 9y ago

Impose a tax on fuel that is enough to pay to repair the environmental damage. Then it doesn't really matter if the tax disuades car ownership or not. If it doesn't then you have the money.

paulryanrogers 9y ago
That also requires the will to spend the money on offsetting the environmental damage done.
- OscarCunningham 9y ago
  That's technically a separate issue. If you spend the money on hospitals instead then the environment will get worse, but you have the hospitals. You should just try to spend the money wherever it's most effective. If the environment gets worse because of that then whatever you got in exchange must (by definition) more than compensate. I agree that spending money on the environment is a good idea, but it's still a separate cause. We could spend money on the environment even if we weren't taxing those who harm it.
Karupan 9y ago
India already has very high tax on fuel - https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-breakdown-of-petrol-price-in-India-and-how-much-of-it-is-taxes https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-breakdown-of-petrol-price-... The problem is that a huge percent of the population use two wheelers to get around and any hike in petrol prices will affect them adversely.