Not being born in- and not feeling to be a part of this country&its culture (other than earning a meager income and carrying a passport that does not require visas to most other countries), I am perplexed by ceratin aspects of life in the US that escape my understanding. One is the irrational -- from an outsider's persepcive -- love affair most Americans develop with the automobile. The monthly cost of maintaining a budget price car (such as Saturn priced at about $13k) is about $410. That includes monthly payments (about $240), pro-rated insurance ($1000/12), gasoline and tolls ($80) and registration fees. Not included are the so-called fines (read: extortion racket devised by local and state governments to boost their failing revenues) and repair costs that can be quite substantial. Assuming the average of only 4 parking tickets @$25 each a year, and one repair/maintenance cost at $300, that increases the cost by addtional $400/12, bringing it to about $450 a month. That means: $450 paid every month, every ear (for older vehicles the payments and insurance rates go down, but repair costs go up substantially). Of course, for more expensive automobiles those costs increase quite substantially. That does NOT include the amount of tax dollars being diverted for highway construction and maintenance. Assuming that an average person uses his/her car mainly for commuting to and from work where the car sits for 8 hours at the parking lot, that is tantamount to reducing that person's effective earnings by $450 or more per month. To reiterate, $450 or more is being taken directly out a wage earner's pocket every month, not counting the tax dollars used for highway construction and maintenance. If a pay-cut or tax of that magnitude were imposed, there would be a riot -- yet people seem to be unwilling to get rid of their automobiles in exchange for $450+ a month, not to mention time wasted in traffic, frustration, etc. Moreover, any attempts to develop public transportation are usually met with fierce citizen resistance. How can one explain this strange phenomenon? Can't most people in this country make a simple cost/benefit calculation that involves the fourth grade math? Or perhaps they can, but they are willing to bear any costs (including the loss of their constitutional rights, including freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, the right not to inciminate oneself, and the right to a jury trial) for the fetish symbolising their social status, national pride or the way of life? Or perhaps there is yet another explanation of this paradox. Or maybe it is just me being duped to pay $450/month for commuting, and most Americans pay only a fraction of that cost? Any hints or comments from this country's natives on this list would be appreciated. Seriously. I really want to know why people's behaviour does not seem to follow the rules of economic rationality. PS: My decision to buy a car resulted mainly from my teenage son's stubborn insistence on using this mode of transportation. I'm selling its as soon as he goes to college. Even if I were to take a taxi to and from work every day, my transportation costs would be way below $450/month. wojtek sokolowski institute for policy studies johns hopkins university baltimore, md 21218 [EMAIL PROTECTED] voice: (410) 516-4056 fax: (410) 516-8233
