Armok_the_bunny

joined 2 years ago
[–] Armok_the_bunny@lemmy.world 6 points 10 hours ago

Take a second to think about that though, why is your neighborhood bigger than entire cities? Spoiler, the answer is that it was built that way, with absolutely no thought given to how people might function if they don't want to have to drive to the grocery store or their job.

[–] Armok_the_bunny@lemmy.world 110 points 1 day ago (44 children)

I saw the video pop up in my Youtube recommended, but didn't bother watching because I just assumed that any cars tested would be using LIDAR and thus would ignore the fake road just fine. I had no idea Tesla a) was still using basic cameras for this and b) actually had sophisticated enough "self driving" capabilities that this could be tested on them safely.

[–] Armok_the_bunny@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago

If you use public roads, have an insurance policy of any kind, rely on the fact that public services like police and firemen are around in case you need them, or live in a suburb at all, you are having some aspects of your life subsidized by the public at large.

[–] Armok_the_bunny@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

That's how you get a population decline, which is actually probably worse in the long run.

[–] Armok_the_bunny@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

I am going to assume you also live in the US here, because that's the environment I'm most familiar with and is where I've heard the most complaints about highways for. The problem is partly that they were built to go directly through city centers rather than around cities, and it's way too late to change that, and partly because General Motors propaganda meant that everyone considers cars to just be the default way of getting anywhere to the extent that other options often just don't exist. For getting between cities, and especially for getting good and produce between cities, highways are a fine option to exist. I would absolutely prefer that high speed rail existed as an alternative, but even if it did I am certain there are some people that would still find it more convenient to drive.

[–] Armok_the_bunny@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago (3 children)

I think most people here agree that a ban is inappropriate for saying that. As for why needing to pay only for your own kids would result in poor education, it's because an absolutely massive amount of the population just outright couldn't afford it. Schools are expensive to run, even more so if you want them to actually give a decent education.

[–] Armok_the_bunny@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I am of the opinion that Highways existing in general are a net good, but definitely shouldn't be built the way they have been and need to be given viable alternatives in most cases. I would have used the example of paying for roads without owning a car, but I made a few assumptions about the kind of person I was replying to and tried to tailor my argument to the kind of person I figured they were (as in, the kind of person that definitely owns a car and uses it extensively).

[–] Armok_the_bunny@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)

And also what if they do eventually have kids, how fair would it be if they took advantage of an institution that they hadn't been paying into the success of.

[–] Armok_the_bunny@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago (4 children)

To be clear, I don't think a ban is an appropriate response to saying something like that, but it does have the same implications as saying "why should I pay for car insurance, I'm not going to get in a crash" or "why pay for highways, I never leave my suburb". Even if you don't directly benefit from those services existing and being paid for, other people do and you actually do benefit from those other people being better off. For the educating kids subject specifically, think about when you're 60, do you want to be taken care of by doctors that got a subpar education, or for your retirement funds to run out because the institutions they rely on collapsed due to a lack of educated workers. It is to everyone's personal benefit in the long run to pay for public services that help the community even if they don't take advantage of them personally and directly.

[–] Armok_the_bunny@lemmy.world 35 points 2 days ago (3 children)

To answer that question, it's because it is in the best interest of society as a whole including the people that don't have children for the next generation to grow up educated and able to contribute productively to society.