Although subsidies at a country level are... complicated.
In general, I suspect that if most of us went back in time 25-30 years we'd be pretty shocked about just how much friction there was to everything. It's not a linear or absolute improvement--and some of the downsides are significant. (Cities you often wouldn't have wanted to live in back then are really expensive today.) But you also spent a lot of time and effort doing things that are essentially effortless today.
Re:Weight-based motor vehicle tax
by SoftTalker on Wednesday August 30, 2023 @02:53PM
(#37327069)
You did, but at the time it was just how things worked and it didn't seem difficult or burdensome. Certain things or services were simpler, because it was impractical for them to be more complicated or customized.
Re:Weight-based motor vehicle tax
by SoftTalker on Wednesday August 30, 2023 @02:40PM
(#37326864)
It's likely that one Amazon or UPS truck delivering 100 orders a day is better than 100 people driving to the store separately. It's hard to say though, because most people are driving to work or grocery shopping, etc. anyway and all they are really saving is one or two detours for things they don't need immediately.
I haven't done the math myself, but I suspect we are all subsidizing interstate trucking (and perhaps air freight) compared to its actual infrastructure and emissions costs. This does lower prices of many essential goods, but also tilts things in favor of large corporations who can ship things cheaply all over the country (ie Walmart, Amazon).