"Well, you don't want to put it somewhere you cannot get at because what if in 20 years' time you discover your ceramic brick [placed on the ocean floor] undergoes transmutation to a biologically toxic molecule? "
History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of man.
"If SUVs paid tax according to the damage they caused, it would be over $10 a gallon to fuel one."
Do you mean to say "only large SUV"? Small ones like jeeps are not that much heavier than cars: and might in fact be lighter.
Also, how much more damage do the big ones cause compared to cars? If it is twice as much damage, then the SUV owner might very well already be paying for it: if it gets half the gas mileage of the car, the SUV owner is paying twice as much in taxes.
"If SUVs paid tax according to the damage they caused, it would be over $10 a gallon to fuel one."
You really need to look up what subsidy means. A subsidy is a cash grant. When the government robs you less, it is not a gift of money. It is your money in the first place. Not a single cent of money earned is a subsidy; a gift from someone else. Even if the government decided "no taxes on SUV owners", not a single cent would have been given to them in the form of a subsidy.
"Something that I have noticed is that the American small cars like the Neon and Focus get terrible gas mileage...cars like the Corolla and Civic
What is American or not? The Neon is built by a German car company in America. The Ford Focus is built by an American car company, but in Mexico. The Corolla is built by a Japanese company in the United States and Canada. Civics are built in 15 countries.
To answer the original question, the Chrysler division of Daimler-Benz has a legacy and tradition of poor quality, which has been kept.
"(.. one of the biggest problems with the Catholic church [..] is the dependence on tradition over scriptures.) That's not true. Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition are both held to the same degree of reverence."
The two are little different. The RCC is one of those sects that holds non-Biblical traditions (the creation and deification of the office of Pope, priests must have no wife when Bible says they should have one, etc) as much more important in relation to scriptures than some other sects do.
"The Bible says that the Church is the pillar and foundation of the truth"
He is rather clear on what this Church is, and no one sect has a monopoly on it.
"This system transports about 18 million people daily. Why the hell don't people in the US campaign for better public transport?"
The US labor laws encourage frequent strikes which greedy special interests shut down the entire transit system in order to try and get more money. We need reforms so this cannot happen. In the mean time, personal cars remain popular: you won't get a greedy union "worker" preventing you from using it to get to work.
Barring labor reforms, another reform might be to decentralize public transit systems, so a strike would only affect one small part and everyone would be able to easily work around it.
"no, it is extreme arrogance to use a word like need to describe SUVs"
Not at all. Just because you do not need one does not mean others do. It is really none of your business if someone else needs one. It is arrogance to think otherwise.
"if you need it so much, how the fuck did people survive before they existed?"
Using your arrogant "you should be able to run everyone's lives" logic, no one really needs to have to live outside of East Africa. After all, the first humans lived there just fine.
"and if it is so important to those people, why can't they pay the true price of such a machine instead"
They end up paying more than the true price of the machine because of the taxes that are added to the purchase price.
For the record, I do not own an SUV and am not likely to get one. However unlike you, I do not feel a need to force my lifestyle choices on others.
"you keep using that word ("need"). I don't think it means what you think it means."
I certainly do, and I know well that what one person needs might not be what another person needs. It is extreme arrogance to assume that your own needs should be imposed on everyone else.
"With using electric only, you aren't paying your share to society, but you are using the roads."
The typical non-driving person pays plenty of taxes to pay for all of this. Also, paying taxes is not "paying your share to society": it is paying money to government. Nothing more, nothing less. Some of it might help society, but chances are a lot will go to merely enrich and empower the leaders. Ah! The Minister of Obfuscation needs a new limousine! Dip into the treasury!) If you want to "pay your share to society", you are probably better off giving money to a legitimate charity.
Others ripped me a new one concerning my silly analogy in other messages. I'm not sure if they mentioned the ash vs fuel difference. I cannot take my posting back: looks like I will have to make my nuclear coal bed and lay in it.
I, for one, look forward to the new Ford Taurus, which travels down the interstate grazing the median line. At least with this new model, the bovine name DOES make sense!
"Really? When did anyone start paying at the pump for global warming, oil spills, MTBE contaminated water supplies, polluted waterways, and toxic air? Until that happens, I see no correlation between financial cost and environmental cost."
You can't, because "environmental cost" is a subjective thing that will vary depending on who you talk to. In contrast, a buck's a buck. Even you tossed in a reference to imaginary human-impacted global warming in your list.
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I don't recall the details about Mr. Gore, but Senator Kerry's spending plan involving wasting a lot more money than Bush.
I think you are confusing this with a DeLorean running on power from Mr. Fusion.
History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of man.
Well, if you are sleeping through it, it won't hurt, right?
Cut us some slack, man! It took is quite a while to learn not to post these numbers in hex or binary.
"In a ho"
le in the gr
(then I thumb the arrow button)
ound lived a "
hobbit.
I figure my thumb will implode by the time the poor dwarves get taunted at Rivendell.
Or: "The Japanese cell phone is more! Then: just a phone"
Do you mean to say "only large SUV"? Small ones like jeeps are not that much heavier than cars: and might in fact be lighter.
Also, how much more damage do the big ones cause compared to cars? If it is twice as much damage, then the SUV owner might very well already be paying for it: if it gets half the gas mileage of the car, the SUV owner is paying twice as much in taxes.
"If SUVs paid tax according to the damage they caused, it would be over $10 a gallon to fuel one."
You really need to look up what subsidy means. A subsidy is a cash grant. When the government robs you less, it is not a gift of money. It is your money in the first place. Not a single cent of money earned is a subsidy; a gift from someone else. Even if the government decided "no taxes on SUV owners", not a single cent would have been given to them in the form of a subsidy.
What is American or not? The Neon is built by a German car company in America. The Ford Focus is built by an American car company, but in Mexico. The Corolla is built by a Japanese company in the United States and Canada. Civics are built in 15 countries.
To answer the original question, the Chrysler division of Daimler-Benz has a legacy and tradition of poor quality, which has been kept.
It should not be. National "defence" is one of those legitimate government expences.
What part of the country are you in? Everywhere I go, I see stations with diesel all over.
The two are little different. The RCC is one of those sects that holds non-Biblical traditions (the creation and deification of the office of Pope, priests must have no wife when Bible says they should have one, etc) as much more important in relation to scriptures than some other sects do.
"The Bible says that the Church is the pillar and foundation of the truth" He is rather clear on what this Church is, and no one sect has a monopoly on it.
The US labor laws encourage frequent strikes which greedy special interests shut down the entire transit system in order to try and get more money. We need reforms so this cannot happen. In the mean time, personal cars remain popular: you won't get a greedy union "worker" preventing you from using it to get to work.
Barring labor reforms, another reform might be to decentralize public transit systems, so a strike would only affect one small part and everyone would be able to easily work around it.
The other respondents have changed my mind about the whole issue.
Not at all. Just because you do not need one does not mean others do. It is really none of your business if someone else needs one. It is arrogance to think otherwise.
"if you need it so much, how the fuck did people survive before they existed?"
Using your arrogant "you should be able to run everyone's lives" logic, no one really needs to have to live outside of East Africa. After all, the first humans lived there just fine.
"and if it is so important to those people, why can't they pay the true price of such a machine instead"
They end up paying more than the true price of the machine because of the taxes that are added to the purchase price.
For the record, I do not own an SUV and am not likely to get one. However unlike you, I do not feel a need to force my lifestyle choices on others.
No, I'd just rather have to pay him than others.
I certainly do, and I know well that what one person needs might not be what another person needs. It is extreme arrogance to assume that your own needs should be imposed on everyone else.
How is this a subsidy? Who is giving SUV owners others' money?
The typical non-driving person pays plenty of taxes to pay for all of this. Also, paying taxes is not "paying your share to society": it is paying money to government. Nothing more, nothing less. Some of it might help society, but chances are a lot will go to merely enrich and empower the leaders. Ah! The Minister of Obfuscation needs a new limousine! Dip into the treasury!) If you want to "pay your share to society", you are probably better off giving money to a legitimate charity.
At this rate, China might as well start burning its own citizens for fuel instead and save the bother of sending the miners underground to die.
You mean you don't get enough of AC's just coming here? Astounding!
Others ripped me a new one concerning my silly analogy in other messages. I'm not sure if they mentioned the ash vs fuel difference. I cannot take my posting back: looks like I will have to make my nuclear coal bed and lay in it.
I, for one, look forward to the new Ford Taurus, which travels down the interstate grazing the median line. At least with this new model, the bovine name DOES make sense!
You can't, because "environmental cost" is a subjective thing that will vary depending on who you talk to. In contrast, a buck's a buck. Even you tossed in a reference to imaginary human-impacted global warming in your list.
You know, I first read that as "Vin Diesel...." It actually makes some sense that way, too, if you are looking at it as a movie critic.