7 ms·

Luxembourg is an outlier and more of an edge case, then something that can be dissected and applied to other countries/cities.

by xdkyx 10mo ago

Gud 10mo ago
Why?
- soerxpso 10mo ago
  Luxembourg has insane tax revenue per capita because of its status as an international tax haven. A program that might be hardly noticeable on Luxembourg's budget could put a big dent into the budget of an American city.
  - blks 10mo ago
    What about Estonia?
  - nottorp 10mo ago
    Actually, they said fare revenue was like 10% of public transport spending anyway. It's very possible it's the same in Iowa City.
    - nielsbot 10mo ago
      That’s true in NYC today “The truth about Zohran’s free busses” by Breaking Points: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P275SobdE-s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P275SobdE-s clickbait headline (of course) but gives a lot of facts about the proposal and talks about other places they’ve tried it.
- ciceryadam 10mo ago
  Because many people commute to Luxembourg from Germany/Belgium/France. AFAIK the cross-border commute complicates things.
freen 10mo ago
Free transit: IMPOSSIBLE!!! Free roads and highways: GOOD AND NATUAL The political class are not typically utilizers of public transit: hence even the best attempts are structurally challenged from the outset. If that isn’t factored into your analysis, you are missing a huge reason why it sometimes fails and sometimes succeeds.
- Broken_Hippo 10mo ago
  Of course the rhetoric is such. One of those things helps poor folks more than the others.
- potato3732842 10mo ago
  >Free roads and highways: GOOD AND NATUAL Every time you fuel up a vehicle you are paying a "fare" to use the road. The fare is subsidized (just like with the bus), but it is very much there and not zero.
  - freen 10mo ago
    Every time you earn money/spend money you are paying taxes. I guess busses run on fairy dust too?
    - potato3732842 10mo ago
      >Every time you earn money/spend money you are paying taxes. >I guess busses run on fairy dust too? Every vehicle on the roads is basically paying to be there via fuel tax (which in whole or large part is spent on the roads). Busses pass some of this cost on to their riders who's fare may be then subsidized in part or full. I don't see why you're being so hysterical.
  - BobaFloutist 10mo ago
    What if I drive an electric vehicle? Sure, my registration is possibly pricier, but I'm in no way paying a usage fee.
    - 10mo ago
enaaem 10mo ago
The funniest thing about Luxembourg is that it is a known tax haven for American corporations. So American corporations will lobby against social programs in the US, but will make Americans fund Luxembourg's free public transport. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jun/17/walmart-hid-76bn-of-assets-in-foreign-tax-havens-new-study-claims https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jun/17/walmart-hid...

Luxembourg is an outlier and more of an edge case, then something that can be dissected and applied to other countries/cities.

by xdkyx 10mo ago

Luxembourg is an outlier and more of an edge case, then something that can be dissected and applied to other countries/cities.

Gud 10mo ago

Why?

soerxpso 10mo ago
Luxembourg has insane tax revenue per capita because of its status as an international tax haven. A program that might be hardly noticeable on Luxembourg's budget could put a big dent into the budget of an American city.
- blks 10mo ago
  What about Estonia?
- nottorp 10mo ago
  Actually, they said fare revenue was like 10% of public transport spending anyway. It's very possible it's the same in Iowa City.
  - nielsbot 10mo ago
    That’s true in NYC today “The truth about Zohran’s free busses” by Breaking Points: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P275SobdE-s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P275SobdE-s clickbait headline (of course) but gives a lot of facts about the proposal and talks about other places they’ve tried it.
ciceryadam 10mo ago
Because many people commute to Luxembourg from Germany/Belgium/France. AFAIK the cross-border commute complicates things.

freen 10mo ago

Free transit: IMPOSSIBLE!!! Free roads and highways: GOOD AND NATUAL The political class are not typically utilizers of public transit: hence even the best attempts are structurally challenged from the outset. If that isn’t factored into your analysis, you are missing a huge reason why it sometimes fails and sometimes succeeds.

Broken_Hippo 10mo ago
Of course the rhetoric is such. One of those things helps poor folks more than the others.
potato3732842 10mo ago
>Free roads and highways: GOOD AND NATUAL Every time you fuel up a vehicle you are paying a "fare" to use the road. The fare is subsidized (just like with the bus), but it is very much there and not zero.
- freen 10mo ago
  Every time you earn money/spend money you are paying taxes. I guess busses run on fairy dust too?
  - potato3732842 10mo ago
    >Every time you earn money/spend money you are paying taxes. >I guess busses run on fairy dust too? Every vehicle on the roads is basically paying to be there via fuel tax (which in whole or large part is spent on the roads). Busses pass some of this cost on to their riders who's fare may be then subsidized in part or full. I don't see why you're being so hysterical.
- BobaFloutist 10mo ago
  What if I drive an electric vehicle? Sure, my registration is possibly pricier, but I'm in no way paying a usage fee.
  - 10mo ago

enaaem 10mo ago

The funniest thing about Luxembourg is that it is a known tax haven for American corporations. So American corporations will lobby against social programs in the US, but will make Americans fund Luxembourg's free public transport. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jun/17/walmart-hid-76bn-of-assets-in-foreign-tax-havens-new-study-claims https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jun/17/walmart-hid...