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The IRS allows you to deduct $0.51/mile if you use your car for business. This takes into account all the costs of driving: gas, insurance, registration, deprec

The IRS allows you to deduct $0.51/mile if you use your car for business. This takes into account all the costs of driving: gas, insurance, registration, depreciation, maintenance and repairs.[1] I don't know if it also takes into account the opportunity cost of having $15-50k sitting in your driveway instead of in an investment. The average American commutes 32 miles/day round-trip[2] (we're not counting other driving). So they're incurring ~$16/day in direct and indirect costs related to car ownership and driving. Over 1 year of workdays, that's approximately $4k in car-related costs. The median household income in the United States is approximately $60k.[3] This implies that the median household spends almost 7% of income just on one car. Most households have 2 vehicles so I'll wager it's more like 10-12% of income. This is also more than the amount households save annually (6%).[4] 1. http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/10/06/the-true-cost-of-commuting/ http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/10/06/the-true-cost-of-c... 2. https://itstillruns.com/far-americans-drive-work-average-7446397.html https://itstillruns.com/far-americans-drive-work-average-744... 3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United... 4. https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/personal-savings https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/personal-savings

diminoten 7y ago
So? Their entire income is probably tied to that car getting them to/from work, so it is an investment, with returns being their ability to hold their job.
- jogjayr 7y ago
  Right. But no one needs a $15k car, let alone a $50k one, to get to/from work. If you're counting job income as RoI from a car, why not buy a $7k car? That's far better RoI. And after one has held a steady job for a few years, no one should need to finance a $15k car either. That's where most of the costs of car ownership come from (apart from long commutes) - depreciation, interest payments, and insurance.
  - diminoten 7y ago
    No one needs to wear any clothes at all, or at most a paper bag would do. And yet, here we are...
    - jogjayr 7y ago
      > No one needs to wear any clothes at all, or at most a paper bag would do. Clothes aren't optional because of public indecency laws and also because most places don't have perfect weather year-round. A paper bag won't do because it'll rip in a couple of minutes, or not offer enough protection against the elements. Same deal with a plastic bag or anything else that's not real clothing. Being shirtless or barefoot restricts your entry to many establishments, but if you don't care about those places then yeah shirts and shoes are optional. All the same, no one needs to wear expensive clothes. If they cover you up, keep you warm, and keep you employable, they're good enough. For a programmer that may mean free swag t-shirt and jeans, and for a rich banker, a $2k suit. But wearing suits every day would be a pointless indulgence for the programmer and wearing $20k suits every day would also be a waste of money for the banker. (I have no idea how much "high-powered finance" suits cost, numbers are estimates)
      - diminoten 7y ago
        Unfortunately for your argument, we don't live in the reality that you're trying to pretend exists, where direct utility is the only valuable feature of an object. Also the fact that you spent so much time talking about the utility of a paper bag more or less outs you as a pedant, so I think I'm done here.

diminoten 7y ago

So? Their entire income is probably tied to that car getting them to/from work, so it is an investment, with returns being their ability to hold their job.

jogjayr 7y ago
Right. But no one needs a $15k car, let alone a $50k one, to get to/from work. If you're counting job income as RoI from a car, why not buy a $7k car? That's far better RoI. And after one has held a steady job for a few years, no one should need to finance a $15k car either. That's where most of the costs of car ownership come from (apart from long commutes) - depreciation, interest payments, and insurance.
- diminoten 7y ago
  No one needs to wear any clothes at all, or at most a paper bag would do. And yet, here we are...
  - jogjayr 7y ago
    > No one needs to wear any clothes at all, or at most a paper bag would do. Clothes aren't optional because of public indecency laws and also because most places don't have perfect weather year-round. A paper bag won't do because it'll rip in a couple of minutes, or not offer enough protection against the elements. Same deal with a plastic bag or anything else that's not real clothing. Being shirtless or barefoot restricts your entry to many establishments, but if you don't care about those places then yeah shirts and shoes are optional. All the same, no one needs to wear expensive clothes. If they cover you up, keep you warm, and keep you employable, they're good enough. For a programmer that may mean free swag t-shirt and jeans, and for a rich banker, a $2k suit. But wearing suits every day would be a pointless indulgence for the programmer and wearing $20k suits every day would also be a waste of money for the banker. (I have no idea how much "high-powered finance" suits cost, numbers are estimates)
    - diminoten 7y ago
      Unfortunately for your argument, we don't live in the reality that you're trying to pretend exists, where direct utility is the only valuable feature of an object. Also the fact that you spent so much time talking about the utility of a paper bag more or less outs you as a pedant, so I think I'm done here.