Posted on 04/08/2014 4:41:55 AM PDT by TurboZamboni
In many circles -- including advocates for cleaner air, safer streets, public transit -- it's a major policy goal to get people out of cars.
Reduce car use, and you reduce pollution. Reduce car use, and we'll need fewer costly roads and parking garages. Reduce car use and shift more people onto bikes and trains, and maybe we'll all spend less of our lives idling in traffic.
That line of thinking, however, seldom considers a group of people for whom more car use might actually be a good thing: the poor.
A group of researchers at the Urban Institute, the University of Maryland and UCLA broach this topic in a large new study of low-income families in 10 cities that participated in two federal housing voucher programs, which were tracked over time by the government. Those programs, the Moving to Opportunity for Fair Housing program and the Welfare to Work Voucher program, attempted to give families access to greater opportunities through stable housing in high-quality neighborhoods.
But it turned out that much of the opportunity in places with better schools, lower poverty and less crime is hard to unlock without a car, the study found.
(Excerpt) Read more at twincities.com ...
Here in Maryland they move them from the city to nearby by giving them section 8 then they provide them subsidized bus routes that they charge us taxes for.
I just assume they stay in city and cut my taxes.
The jobs have moved out to suburban malls and office parks, away from inner cities where civilization has ended. And by either luck or design, the bus routes do not go there.
For any person trapped in those areas who truly does want to get a job and start climbing the ladder out of poverty, a car is just about an essential.
There are many faith-based charities where you can donate your old car to help such people.
How smelly.
Good thing the gov just mandated the use of backup cameras.
We first thought mandating air bags would make cars so expensive that the poor would not be able to afford them.
NOW we can really slam them.
BWAH HAH HAH HAH HAH!
(do I really have to say sarc)
Good example for you.
A buddy of mine worked in a staffing business. One of his clients was Netflix. Their regional warehouse for mailing out the DVD’s moved from an inner-city location on the bus line out to a brand new office park on the far side of the airport.
Only problem was....for 90% of the staff...they could no longer get there from here.
Which led Netflix to start screaming at my buddy about why he could not fill the building with employees in an affluent, booming suburban area for eight bucks an hour.
If I were to tell one of those liberals how many times I’ve crashed while riding a bike, they’d probably tell me I’m doing it wrong, and to get rid of my mountain bike and get one of those cheap single speed bikes that don’t have any hand brakes.
And I’m so rough on my stuff that I once wrapped the rear derailleur around a spoke.
You never could depend on it being on time so you had to get up an hour early so if you missed the first bus you could get to work on time anyway and the same coming home.
If you wanted to go some where you still faced the prospect of a long walk from the stop and the a long walk back in all kinds of weather.
Having a car is the first step out of poverty.
Isn’t this the most pathetic “study” you’ve heard of? (well, at least this week, and it’s only Tuesday, so the week is young).
Who knew you needed a car in America to travel anywhere? And without one you were stuck in poverty ridden inner cities?
The USA was SO much better off decades ago when it was frugal with its limited resources and didn’t fund crap like this.
By Ivan Betinov
11/12/2013
The People's Cube
In an effort to win back the hearts of the American People, the White House today announced its support of the new ObamaCar program.
"Too many Americans are driving substandard cars," said White House Spokesperson Jay Carney during today's press briefing. "In fact, there are a lot of Americans who don't even have cars. That is why the President, by executive order, has initiated the ObamaCar Program."
The new program will see that all Americans, regardless of age, place of residence, or occupation will be required to purchase a vehicle suitable to meet the standards mandated by ObamaCar.
However, Carney was quick to point out that this did not mean that anyone would be forced to give up their favorite ride.
"If you like the car you are driving now, you can keep your car. Period." Carney read from a prepared statement by President Obama. "Nobody is going to take it away from you. Period."
Carney said this means that nobody will be required to purchase a vehicle they do not want or need. Ever. As long as your current vehicle meets ObamaCar standard features, you can drive it as long as you like. Unless the manufacturer decides to recall it.
"But if that happens, don't blame us," Carney said. "That's the free market at work, that's capitalism, at least how we define capitalism, in action. We didn't do that to you."
He went on to state that all auto manufactures will be required to produce only ObamaCar-compliant vehicles.
The ObamaCar will come in two basic models: The Sporty Runabout and the Luxurious Executive Sedan. Both models come equipped with the following standard features:
Log on and order yours today at CarCare.gov!
Perfect!
But shouldn’t there be a penalty if you don’t buy one?
say- a couple years ago+ MA Gov Devil Patrick’s admin was awarding cars to a couple dozen central/western MA welfare recipients exactly for these reasons...
Those same academic nimrods are cutting up busy Wisconsin roads (where we have two seasons....winter and “orange barrel time”)with bike lanes that nobody uses.
Apparently transit spent all the bus maintenance $ on shiny new choo choos all over the Twin Cities metro.
Mobility is freedom, freedom is power.... Why do you think leftist hate it?
Why Do Progressives Love Trains?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2234230/posts
Because they live by a world view that peaked in the late 1800s, trains are a nastalgia thing for them... Plus trains like planes do offer mobility, but it is limited, just like buses... sure you can go, but on their schedule and only where they go.
Automobiles give true mobility, you are not dependent on anyone or anything else to get where you want to go... A privately owned network of gas stations are all you need, and you can go wherever and whenever you want. There is nothing that gives an individual freedom and convience that an automobile does when it comes to mobility.
They’ll get their cars, but won’t use them for work. I worked in a city that was 40% black. My daily commute took me all the way through the city on the freeway, about 16 miles of urbanland total.
The thing that stuck out to me was that during our congregated commute, I rarely saw a black person driving...maybe 5% of drivers. Same thing if I left work during 6 PM rush.
But, if you drove the same stretch of freeway at 10 or 11 PM, which I did at least 3 days a week on my way home from work, there were a disproportionate amount of blacks heading to and fro.
I’m sure there are other factors at play, such as whites living in suburbs, but I always thought the commute disparity was interesting nonetheless.
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