Roads are subsidies to big business
Part of our taxes go to the building and maintaining of roads. Roads are primarily used for cars. The car industry is therefore given a tax subsidy (your money) to help them disseminate their product.
It's ridiculous. It's like the government taking your money to install mid-quality TV's in every home to facilitate the buying of Xbox 360s. Though a "free" TV does not sound bad, you would probably want a say in which brand of TV and of what quality you were forced to get. If the government gave you a black and white, with antenna reception, you would probably want your money back. That is the kind of roads we have. I want my money back.
The problem with our roads is that they cater to one type of transportation: cars. They do not cater to bicycles. A strip of paint alongside a car lane does not qualify as a bike lane. The danger inherent with the inevitable collisions between a man on a bike moving with 200 lbs of force and a car with 4000 lbs of force is too great a risk. Government subsidy of the car industry has forced us into this kind of predicament.
The current gas crisis is also result of this long-standing subsidy. If the market was allowed to run freely, all kinds of alternative transportations could be available. A car made of light weight materials weighing less than a hundred pounds could be conceivably built and powered with solar, electric, and/or pedal energy. But such a light weight car is currently a dream because it could not safely compete for road space with the current two-ton behemoths.
Roads are just one of several hundred everyday things that are the way they are because of tradition, not because they need to be. We need to take another look at our traditions to see which ones are actually helping us.
A good general rule: anything the government does is sub-standard and out-dated.
The government's giving of our money to corporations is unacceptable.
If I were clever, I would have made this a metaphor for the government bailing out mortgage giants.
It's ridiculous. It's like the government taking your money to install mid-quality TV's in every home to facilitate the buying of Xbox 360s. Though a "free" TV does not sound bad, you would probably want a say in which brand of TV and of what quality you were forced to get. If the government gave you a black and white, with antenna reception, you would probably want your money back. That is the kind of roads we have. I want my money back.
The problem with our roads is that they cater to one type of transportation: cars. They do not cater to bicycles. A strip of paint alongside a car lane does not qualify as a bike lane. The danger inherent with the inevitable collisions between a man on a bike moving with 200 lbs of force and a car with 4000 lbs of force is too great a risk. Government subsidy of the car industry has forced us into this kind of predicament.
The current gas crisis is also result of this long-standing subsidy. If the market was allowed to run freely, all kinds of alternative transportations could be available. A car made of light weight materials weighing less than a hundred pounds could be conceivably built and powered with solar, electric, and/or pedal energy. But such a light weight car is currently a dream because it could not safely compete for road space with the current two-ton behemoths.
Roads are just one of several hundred everyday things that are the way they are because of tradition, not because they need to be. We need to take another look at our traditions to see which ones are actually helping us.
A good general rule: anything the government does is sub-standard and out-dated.
The government's giving of our money to corporations is unacceptable.
If I were clever, I would have made this a metaphor for the government bailing out mortgage giants.
I like you. I also like the phrase "mid-quality TV." I also like the idea of not needing a car. Ever since I rode on Paris' metro, I've been firmly convinced that cars are overrated, and if I didn't have to own one, I wouldn't.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your thoughts on roads not being friendly to alternative transportation. You do have to remember one thing though: Americans love their cars.
ReplyDeletethe taxes that pay for the roads come from gas sales, so as soon as cyclists start helping to pay for the roads, they can have part of them. don't get me wrong...i love bikes. but to ride one in provo is crazy...you're pretty much guaranteed to die. plus, where would you put your groceries in that light-weight car? or a car seat for your child?
ReplyDeletelove, the D's advocate