This whole thread is full of people expressing lament over the glaring waste, but I suggested a concrete cause to consider and it was met with silent downvotes. Individuals don't generally destroy perfectly good bikes. It's the economy, stupid. ZIRP pushes capital to make far-off bets, in hopes that some might turn into recurring income streams.

The e-rental industry is a glaring example of this in action, where "investors" are buying fleets of easily-affordable consumer goods, hoping to put enough on the sidewalk that people will trip over them and their credit cards will fall in. I know everyone in Silly Valley has been benefiting from this deluge of make-work, but eventually we're going to have to reconcile our goal of technology making us more productive with this regressive policy of "full employment". And sorry, I doubt the answer is obtuse "basic income".

circular flow.