Except the fact that governments aren't subsidizing 5.9 trillion dollars of taxpayer money to boot manufacturers in order to keep the 50$ boots at that price. [0]

[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuel_subsidies

Maybe tax the companies which could provide work from home but decide for dubious, unproven reasons, not to. A majority of petrol costs come from commutes - sure brick and mortar might require some commuting, but the vast majority of white collar work requires nobody to go anywhere.

Going on year three with my $25 work shoes. They're leather and steel toe and I do construction.

When you're getting a major loan, the long-term economics have a lot more influence.