Poverty is a state of not having "enough." It is a state of mind independent of wealth or status. I'd wager this belief of never having "enough" is what drives many of the most motivated capitalists industry has ever known.
To see how car dependent America is, all you've got to do is take a drive down the ol' shoulder-less 2 lane country road to any rural community & observe the disheveled rows of worn out cars in the side yard of any "farm house" that hasn't been a house for a farm in the better part of a century.
In the burbs, the story really isn't that different. Look for the cars parked on the front yard, the 2 in the side yard, or the ones street parked to avoid the shuffle of the 2, double parked in the driveway.
America needs it's cars. Indeed it's only the major metropolitan area that have other options available. Those options empower opportunity. That opportunity is freedom to choose how & where to live. The power to choose an employer. The vibrant & dynamic community for an employees to thrive in. Freedom to create. Freedom to start & run a successful business. The freedom is self determination. Metropolitan areas are where affluence (as defined by this thread) happens.
I, for one do not like my car. I have come to despise driving. As such, if one was to be a necessity, then I chose a hybrid, then an electric & taxed the -ish out of myself (& my cars) to install a light rail line. The line is currently under construction. I drove 10 miles to the nearest functioning station on a Sunday afternoon. By the second stop, the train was FULL. It seems that many others feel the same as I do...All those on the train has also lightened the load on the adjacent freeway as well. Speeds are up, travel times are down.
Peoples time has value. I'm curious as to how it will be spent. Creating more prosperity, in a more prosperous metropolis, no doubt.
I genuinely feel sorry for the disempowered, car dependent & indignant in the rural vacant lands who just can't see how rich & strong, & affluent America truly is. How anyone could afford such a singularly large drain in their expenses; To be obligated to such a large ongoing cost just to get to civilization for basic necessities like food is beyond me.
Last edited by base2; 12-20-21 at 01:33 AM.