4 ms·

Personally I like the suburbs and my cars.

by crmrc114 6y ago

TremendousJudge 6y ago
Congratulations. It is well known that the plural of "anecdote" is "data".
- dang 6y ago
  Please don't be a jerk in HN comments, even when someone else has a mere anecdote. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
kiba 6y ago
Your car rides on public roads and the car you drive impose a cost on everyone else.
- twblalock 6y ago
  Public transit also imposes a cost on everyone else -- most of it is subsidized by taxes and will never be profitable. Public roads and public transit are both funded by taxes, so I don't see why it would be right to use one but wrong to use the other.
  - danbolt 6y ago
    I think you could make an argument for the cost-effectiveness of transit and walkability compared to car culture. It lowers the base economic hurdle to be productive in society and is more environmentally friendly to boot. I think it's fine to enjoy public roads and driving a car as a personal activity, but I think it gets too much public funding as "the default" in North America. I'd rather my tax dollars go to a train line than a highway lane.
- scarface74 6y ago
  Most public transportation is partially subsidized in the US. Car owners are paying taxes to support public transportation via income tax, sales tax and/or a gas tax.
  - redis_mlc 6y ago
    > Car owners are paying taxes to support public transportation via income tax, sales tax and/or a gas tax. I think you meant tax payers are paying taxes. Car owners are not some special class of citizen.
  - amanaplanacanal 6y ago
    Roads and highways are also subsidized. Fuel taxes and vehicle fees would have to be raised substantially for drivers to pay their own way.
eclipxe 6y ago
+1, me too.
axaxs 6y ago
I do, if done right I guess. In my previous house, it definitely wasn't urban, but not what you'd think of as suburban, either. Lotsa smallish houses in neighborhoods with good yards on both sides of a central road, which had tons of small shops. You could walk to get basic groceries, vet, eye clinic, donuts, couple restaurants. It was very quaint and to me, perfect. However, I currently live in some monstrosity of a neighborhood that requires driving at least five minutes to get anywhere. This isn't the future, and I don't understand how people can stand it.

Personally I like the suburbs and my cars.

TremendousJudge 6y ago

Congratulations. It is well known that the plural of "anecdote" is "data".

dang 6y ago
Please don't be a jerk in HN comments, even when someone else has a mere anecdote. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

kiba 6y ago

Your car rides on public roads and the car you drive impose a cost on everyone else.

twblalock 6y ago
Public transit also imposes a cost on everyone else -- most of it is subsidized by taxes and will never be profitable. Public roads and public transit are both funded by taxes, so I don't see why it would be right to use one but wrong to use the other.
- danbolt 6y ago
  I think you could make an argument for the cost-effectiveness of transit and walkability compared to car culture. It lowers the base economic hurdle to be productive in society and is more environmentally friendly to boot. I think it's fine to enjoy public roads and driving a car as a personal activity, but I think it gets too much public funding as "the default" in North America. I'd rather my tax dollars go to a train line than a highway lane.
scarface74 6y ago
Most public transportation is partially subsidized in the US. Car owners are paying taxes to support public transportation via income tax, sales tax and/or a gas tax.
- redis_mlc 6y ago
  > Car owners are paying taxes to support public transportation via income tax, sales tax and/or a gas tax. I think you meant tax payers are paying taxes. Car owners are not some special class of citizen.
- amanaplanacanal 6y ago
  Roads and highways are also subsidized. Fuel taxes and vehicle fees would have to be raised substantially for drivers to pay their own way.

eclipxe 6y ago

+1, me too.

axaxs 6y ago

I do, if done right I guess. In my previous house, it definitely wasn't urban, but not what you'd think of as suburban, either. Lotsa smallish houses in neighborhoods with good yards on both sides of a central road, which had tons of small shops. You could walk to get basic groceries, vet, eye clinic, donuts, couple restaurants. It was very quaint and to me, perfect. However, I currently live in some monstrosity of a neighborhood that requires driving at least five minutes to get anywhere. This isn't the future, and I don't understand how people can stand it.