Re:Why New York City Stopped Building Subways (2018)
by TheOtherHobbes on Monday October 07, 2019 @08:52AM
(#21180144)
That's a politically constructed reality, created over decades by deliberate lobbying and political leverage. It's not a simple reality at all.
Re:Why New York City Stopped Building Subways (2018)
by rayiner on Monday October 07, 2019 @09:22AM
(#21180455)
It’s not a “politically constructed reality.” It’s a reality constructed reality. Roads offer a relatively cheap and easy way of taking advantage of cheap, plentiful land in the US. There’s definitely subsidies we could get rid of (force property taxes to cover the costs of roads in the suburbs), but even if you did that I suspect most people would still opt to live in cheaper and bigger houses outside the city. (Especially if you got rid of corresponding subsidies in cities.)
Re:Why New York City Stopped Building Subways (2018)
by zaroth on Monday October 07, 2019 @10:12AM
(#21180994)
> Force property taxes to cover the costs of roads in the suburbs
That's what excise taxes are for. For example, in my town, we spend $1.2m on highway maintenance, and $450k in snow removal, while collecting $2.4m in vehicle excise taxes.
There is also about $60k in fines income, but it doesn't break down exactly how much of that is vehicular.
simply put, living in town is not financially or socially viable for many and the freedom afforded by auto ownership is not giving the value is vastly underestimated by those who would restrict their use by others.
as with most lifestyle conversations it is far easier to score internet points with altruistic comments let alone being part of the clique. about as useful as hashtag diplomacy