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> Having a car is not a necessity. It should be seen (and taxed) as a luxury It is unfortunately a necessity in many parts of America where public transportati

> Having a car is not a necessity. It should be seen (and taxed) as a luxury It is unfortunately a necessity in many parts of America where public transportation is lacking or nonexistent. And making it a "luxury" just further stratifies our society into different, non-interacting economic classes. When things start becoming "privileges", you get a privileged class who cares less and less about the quality of life of those in lesser classes, shaping society to benefit their lifestyles at the expense of others. As someone who grew up in abject poverty in a very rural area and was homeless and on completely on my own by 16, I have already seen how this plays out. The trajectory of my life was majorly affected by a lack of a car or adequate public transportation. I have since had to make choices about where I live in order to minimize car use in order to align with my own philosophy around transportation, but it comes at great cost in America when such walkable cities are so desirable that cost of living shoots through the roof due to demand. And conversely, poorer areas often lack walkability or sufficient and accessible public transportation. Berlin does not have the same problems as America, a sprawling empire in decline.

rglullis 1y ago
> When things start becoming "privileges", you get a privileged class who cares less and less about the quality of life of those in lesser classes, shaping society to benefit their lifestyles at the expense of others. I'll never forget one of my last lectures from my high-school History class teacher. She said "People talk about societies in terms of two classes: the kings and the plebs, the haves and have-nots, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. I hope you managed to learn that throughout all of history, what we have is actually three different forces - priests or monks in Ancient times, or the merchants during the Renaissance, land owners in the US - and that it's this third class that is crucial in determining the course of History. Every time they aligned with the elites there was no change in the status quo, and every time a revolution happened was because they in the middle shifted their support to the other side." I'm saying this for one simple reason: the way to fix this problem is not by pretending that car ownership isn't a luxury, but by de-stigmatizing public transport. I can bet you that if political forces shifted and started putting pressure against car-ownership, you would quickly see a swing from the middle class in support for better public transit, mixed-use zoning, YIMBY-ism, etc. "A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It’s where the rich use public transportation"
- Natsu 1y ago
  > de-stigmatizing public transport I don't avoid it because of "stigma" but lived experience where it takes 2x as long to get anywhere and I'm far more likely to get assaulted by some rando while minding my own business or having to deal with someone else's bodily fluids or public intoxication. But I loved public transport back in places and times where I felt safer.
  - rglullis 1y ago
    Are you campaigning with your city council to favor more/better public transit options? Are you discussing with your neighbors about changing zoning laws so that small business and shops can be located closer to you?
    - Natsu 1y ago
      I feel like you just skipped over half of the problem keeping people from using the public transport that does exist.
      - rglullis 1y ago
        No, I did not. I understand that right now you might prefer to use car because you can not rely on public transit and you don't feel safe. My question is the sense of "are you doing anything to change this reality, or are you just going to accept that now that you have a car you see no point in advocating better public transit for your community?"
        Natsu 1y ago
        > you don't feel safe. I cited lived experience, not feelings, and it's hard to see how expanding transport more is going to fix that when they don't care for what we have now.
        rglullis 1y ago
standardly 1y ago
Having a <house> is not a necessity. It should be taxed as a luxury. Having a <hot shower> is not a necessity. It should be taxed as a luxury. ... Well this line of reasoning isn't very good.

rglullis 1y ago

> When things start becoming "privileges", you get a privileged class who cares less and less about the quality of life of those in lesser classes, shaping society to benefit their lifestyles at the expense of others. I'll never forget one of my last lectures from my high-school History class teacher. She said "People talk about societies in terms of two classes: the kings and the plebs, the haves and have-nots, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. I hope you managed to learn that throughout all of history, what we have is actually three different forces - priests or monks in Ancient times, or the merchants during the Renaissance, land owners in the US - and that it's this third class that is crucial in determining the course of History. Every time they aligned with the elites there was no change in the status quo, and every time a revolution happened was because they in the middle shifted their support to the other side." I'm saying this for one simple reason: the way to fix this problem is not by pretending that car ownership isn't a luxury, but by de-stigmatizing public transport. I can bet you that if political forces shifted and started putting pressure against car-ownership, you would quickly see a swing from the middle class in support for better public transit, mixed-use zoning, YIMBY-ism, etc. "A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It’s where the rich use public transportation"

Natsu 1y ago
> de-stigmatizing public transport I don't avoid it because of "stigma" but lived experience where it takes 2x as long to get anywhere and I'm far more likely to get assaulted by some rando while minding my own business or having to deal with someone else's bodily fluids or public intoxication. But I loved public transport back in places and times where I felt safer.
- rglullis 1y ago
  Are you campaigning with your city council to favor more/better public transit options? Are you discussing with your neighbors about changing zoning laws so that small business and shops can be located closer to you?
  - Natsu 1y ago
    I feel like you just skipped over half of the problem keeping people from using the public transport that does exist.
    - rglullis 1y ago
      No, I did not. I understand that right now you might prefer to use car because you can not rely on public transit and you don't feel safe. My question is the sense of "are you doing anything to change this reality, or are you just going to accept that now that you have a car you see no point in advocating better public transit for your community?"
      - Natsu 1y ago
        > you don't feel safe. I cited lived experience, not feelings, and it's hard to see how expanding transport more is going to fix that when they don't care for what we have now.
        rglullis 1y ago

standardly 1y ago

Having a <house> is not a necessity. It should be taxed as a luxury. Having a <hot shower> is not a necessity. It should be taxed as a luxury. ... Well this line of reasoning isn't very good.