4 ms·

Every day car accidents kill a jet liner worth of Americans, and maim many more. Driving is arguably more dangerous than moderate smoking. Yet unlike smoking

Every day car accidents kill a jet liner worth of Americans, and maim many more. Driving is arguably more dangerous than moderate smoking. Yet unlike smoking driving is subsidized and encouraged.

hachiya 17y ago
And unlike smoking, driving has practical benefits, i.e. getting from point A to point B, enabling one to have a job, social outings, vacations, etc... Smoking has no real benefits. It has a short term plus of making one "feel good"; but nobody claims smoking is "good", while the above goals of driving are. So I don't really know what point you are trying to make. People all know the dangers of driving, but are willing to trade those for the benefits. People know the dangers of smoking, and are willing to trade those because they are addicted, and for no real benefits. There's a big difference.
- bct 17y ago
  The problem is that subsidies and encouragement make people forget that actually, yes, it is possible to go places and have a job without a car. And as they forget, it slowly stops being true.
skushch 17y ago
I'm confused about the "driving is subsidized part". Last time I checked nobody helped me pay for my car, my registration or my gas taxes. Which do help pay for public transit... Am I missing something?
- kingkongrevenge 17y ago
  The roads are certainly built and maintained with capital diverted from more productive uses. Even if the postal service didn't lose money hand over fist I'd still call it subsidized, as it wouldn't exist without its legal monopoly. One can argue whether road costs are covered by user fees or not. The subsidized policing and EMS costs are typically ignored, for example. You might want to include some of the military and intel budgets related to oil security.
- Tangurena 17y ago
  I pay taxes that go to pay for the roadways and highways near you. You don't pay the actual costs of building and maintaining those roads as the tax burdens get spread all around. Some of my taxes have also gone to overthrow dictators, prop up existing dictators (like Saudi Arabia) or to put dictators into power (such as the Shah) so that we could have cheap oil. Politicians have repeatedly claimed that oil revenues from Iraq would pay for the war and reconstruction of Iraq.

Every day car accidents kill a jet liner worth of Americans, and maim many more. Driving is arguably more dangerous than moderate smoking. Yet unlike smoking driving is subsidized and encouraged.

hachiya 17y ago

And unlike smoking, driving has practical benefits, i.e. getting from point A to point B, enabling one to have a job, social outings, vacations, etc... Smoking has no real benefits. It has a short term plus of making one "feel good"; but nobody claims smoking is "good", while the above goals of driving are. So I don't really know what point you are trying to make. People all know the dangers of driving, but are willing to trade those for the benefits. People know the dangers of smoking, and are willing to trade those because they are addicted, and for no real benefits. There's a big difference.

bct 17y ago
The problem is that subsidies and encouragement make people forget that actually, yes, it is possible to go places and have a job without a car. And as they forget, it slowly stops being true.

skushch 17y ago

I'm confused about the "driving is subsidized part". Last time I checked nobody helped me pay for my car, my registration or my gas taxes. Which do help pay for public transit... Am I missing something?

kingkongrevenge 17y ago
The roads are certainly built and maintained with capital diverted from more productive uses. Even if the postal service didn't lose money hand over fist I'd still call it subsidized, as it wouldn't exist without its legal monopoly. One can argue whether road costs are covered by user fees or not. The subsidized policing and EMS costs are typically ignored, for example. You might want to include some of the military and intel budgets related to oil security.
Tangurena 17y ago
I pay taxes that go to pay for the roadways and highways near you. You don't pay the actual costs of building and maintaining those roads as the tax burdens get spread all around. Some of my taxes have also gone to overthrow dictators, prop up existing dictators (like Saudi Arabia) or to put dictators into power (such as the Shah) so that we could have cheap oil. Politicians have repeatedly claimed that oil revenues from Iraq would pay for the war and reconstruction of Iraq.