Re:Americans Own Less Stuff, and That’s Reason to Be Nervous
by Qwertie on Tuesday August 14, 2018 @08:23PM
(#17763009)
>If a car is not cool enough for me to want to own, why would I care to use the communal car rather than the bus? Can the auto industry survive selling 10% of the vehicles is does now?
Not every industry has to survive forever. Can the telegraph industry survive the ~0% of sales it had before? Cars just aren't that useful in densely populated areas. The US will have to move away from personal vehicle transport and to mass transport/walking/cycling.
Add: I also feel this is why new home sales is such an important metric to judge the momentum of the US economy, lots of new home sales means lots of new home-wares. You buy or build a house you also buy a refrigerator, microwave, carpet, furniture etc. Mostly on credit. If we truly become a communal society the cycle is broken, the same people who said "no new house and no new car, I'll just save my cash" now earn less 5 years later because there are many fewer things sold and the interconnected supply chain stalls.