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Back in the early/mid 90s, I worked minimum wage (4.25 an hour) while in high school. My first car was an 87 Chevette Hatchback diesel. It was brown mixed with rust brown. The AC didn't work, it came with 4 flat tires, but it ran. I got the car for free. All I had to do was get it out of the guys back yard. I bought 4 new (used) tires and the car was good to go. Summers in Florida sucked but I was happy to have a car. I understand this was 20 years ago, but not much has changed. Cheap cars are all over the place, you just have to look.
Maybe kids have this fear of not looking cool in a car with rust while holding their brand new iphone 6 plus.
...Much more than previous generations might understand, most of what many millenials need/want can be found online (much of it for free too, when it comes to entertainment and socializing at least): entertainment (games, movies, tv shows, youtube and other random videos, etc), socializing, school work and related documents (many schools, especially colleges, have assignments that can only be completed online), or even just work in general. A cellphone or pc is just something to connect us to that online world. A car is also unnecessary to get to and from one website to another ^^. ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by hoffdano
In other words, you don't want/need the freedom that comes with having your own transportation. You are comfortable being dependent on transportation provided by government.
I'd opine that alester237's position isn't necessarily one of dependency on government, vs. rugged individualism. There's much entrepreneurial activity, self-starting and unorthodox exploration amongst youth, and much craven dependency amongst the more "seasoned" generation. It takes all kinds.
Rather, the point isn't political. The point is that the new generation prefers software, while the old prefers hardware. The new would rather write smart-phone apps. The old would rather do welding, machining, adjusting distributor timing and carburetor jets and camber/toe settings. The older generation likes torque-wrenches and TIG-welders. The newer generation prefers object-oriented programming.
Simply put, if you're a software guy, a car is a car is a car... whether it's a RWD supercharged V8 or a FWD 4-cylinder. You don't care about horsepower or 0-60 times. You care about the functionality of the dashboard LCD. The car is just an appliance, a thing to use to get from A to B. If there are other things to use for doing the A-B route, things that cost less or don't require parking or oil-changes, then those other things are going to be more appealing. It's not about public vs. private, mass vs. individual. It's about hands-on physical objects with bolts and screws, vs. cyber "objects" with do-loops and conditionals. That's the real generational difference - and not politics.
In other words, you don't want/need the freedom that comes with having your own transportation. You are comfortable being dependent on transportation provided by government.
Your #5 is a massive exaggeration, isn't it? Modern cars have smartphone integration, whether for music or something else. And of course there is PBS, probably in every city. Many local stations, unrelated to corporate media. I am too cheap to pay for satellite radio, but the choices are nearly endless. For some of us, driving is fun.
Wouldn't the less free option be being forced into buying a car and paying for all of its associated expenses because there is no viable public transportation? At least if there is some decent public transit you can choose to take it or just keep driving your car. It's precisely that lack of choice that makes me hate driving that much more.
Yes, 5 is exaggerated of course, but the point remains that it's mostly just listening that you can do in a car ( unless you are a passenger).
Uber is proof that people, especially younger gen are more likely to use ride sharing services than car ownership.
No. Uber or Lyft are limited in scope now. They also are going to start getting regulated. Younger generation can only use either if they're available. Which they aren't. As well as being, in my opinion, a bit faddish.
I must admit the lesser people that hate driving on the road the better.
Auto accidents have surpass other natural causes of death, eventually it may become the #1 cause of deaths.
Uh, no. In fact deaths by auto accidents have been steadily dropping for the last couple decades even with a massive increase in total miles driven.
Wouldn't the less free option be being forced into buying a car and paying for all of its associated expenses because there is no viable public transportation? At least if there is some decent public transit you can choose to take it or just keep driving your car. It's precisely that lack of choice that makes me hate driving that much more.
Maybe.
To others -- many others, possibly the majority -- not having to depend on someone else's schedule or predetermined route is well worth the associated expenses that you mention.
Uber is proof that people, especially younger gen are more likely to use ride sharing services than car ownership.
I must admit the lesser people that hate driving on the road the better.
Auto accidents have surpass other natural causes of death, eventually it may become the #1 cause of deaths.
The rideshare model is in its infancy, but I see this general concept as a coming wave. It probably won't kill the private auto, but it could put a huge dent in it. Imagine a big fleet of roving vans. You enter your 'from' and 'to' addresses into your smart phone, and within five minutes a van pulls up to your door with other passengers headed in your same direction. People are dropped off and picked up along the way, all managed by software to strike a balance between minimizing cost and minimizing travel time.
This could be incredibly cost effective, while being even more convenient that the private automobile. It will probably take another 15-20 years before we get there, and by then the millennials will rapidly aging. We might never get there at all. The rideshare concept is already running into serious political opposition from Democrats, and public sector union interests are going to fight it tooth and nail.
Wrong there, too. Fuel taxes only pay for part of the exorbitant cost of the road system. A goodly portion is paid by taxes from federal, state, and local general funds--those supported by various income, sales, and property taxes. I happen to know, since I used to work in government budgeting functions.
A new report from the Tax Foundation shows 50.7 percent of America’s road spending comes from gas taxes, tolls, and other fees levied on drivers. The other 49.3 percent? Well, that comes from general tax dollars, just like education and health care. The way we spend on roads has nothing to do with the free market, or even how much people use roads.
“Nationwide in 2010, state and local governments raised $37 billion in motor fuel taxes and $12 billion in tolls and non-fuel taxes, but spent $155 billion on highways,” writes the Tax Foundation’s Joseph Henchman. Another $28 billion of that $155 billion comes from revenue from the federal gas tax.
Meanwhile, transit fares cover 21 percent of costs nationwide, indicating that the difference in subsidies for roads and transit is not as great as it’s often made out to be. (Though in absolute terms, there is a big difference: The total subsidy for roads dwarfs the total subsidy for transit.)
I'm 22 and I value walking and public transportation. I enjoy seeing and feeling everything going on around me, and you cannot do that in a car. Also, I am afraid of getting a DUI.
I'd opine that alester237's position isn't necessarily one of dependency on government, vs. rugged individualism. There's much entrepreneurial activity, self-starting and unorthodox exploration amongst youth, and much craven dependency amongst the more "seasoned" generation. It takes all kinds.
Rather, the point isn't political. The point is that the new generation prefers software, while the old prefers hardware. The new would rather write smart-phone apps. The old would rather do welding, machining, adjusting distributor timing and carburetor jets and camber/toe settings. The older generation likes torque-wrenches and TIG-welders. The newer generation prefers object-oriented programming.
Simply put, if you're a software guy, a car is a car is a car... whether it's a RWD supercharged V8 or a FWD 4-cylinder. You don't care about horsepower or 0-60 times. You care about the functionality of the dashboard LCD. The car is just an appliance, a thing to use to get from A to B. If there are other things to use for doing the A-B route, things that cost less or don't require parking or oil-changes, then those other things are going to be more appealing. It's not about public vs. private, mass vs. individual. It's about hands-on physical objects with bolts and screws, vs. cyber "objects" with do-loops and conditionals. That's the real generational difference - and not politics.
Your analogy is interesting. Except it is too simple. For example - me. I am a software guy, since 1981. That is what I do for a living. I like both software and hardware. I like cars because they are incredible machines that give me freedom.
Just because older people did more work with their hands than younger people is just an indicator of technology evolution.
I don't feel forced to have one. I desire one (or more). Public transportation is OK - I've been on some of the best in the world. Very convenient, but sharing space all the time....is not for me.
I disagree that today's youth are software people. Most of them have no idea what powers the things they use and like.
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