That’s not what “critical” means though. I could say tuna is critical to my health because 80% of my protein comes from tuna, but a sane person would be like “why is you so obsessed with tuna” and “there are other kinds of food out there”. Most people dont even try anything different. My fucking neighbors drives their kids to school because they are too lazy to wake up 15 minutes earlier to catch the school bus, and waste an extra 20 minutes of their time in the process. Most car trips are less than a few miles in the US or something like that.
I’d argue we’d have a much stronger economy with dramatically fewer personal cars and car trips.
I agree w you that less cars frees more capital for other productive investments which could build a stronger economy.
I disagree on what critical means. If the cars and tech to mfg them disappeared tomorrow, the American economy would crumble. The dependence on them is what makes them critical, they’ve become like air. That’s not to say it has to be that way forever, but it is at the present moment.
Fuck cars! I’m with you homie.
With that said, ~80% of Americans drive to work… so saying that cars aren’t critical to the American economy disconnects from reality.
That’s not what “critical” means though. I could say tuna is critical to my health because 80% of my protein comes from tuna, but a sane person would be like “why is you so obsessed with tuna” and “there are other kinds of food out there”. Most people dont even try anything different. My fucking neighbors drives their kids to school because they are too lazy to wake up 15 minutes earlier to catch the school bus, and waste an extra 20 minutes of their time in the process. Most car trips are less than a few miles in the US or something like that.
I’d argue we’d have a much stronger economy with dramatically fewer personal cars and car trips.
I agree w you that less cars frees more capital for other productive investments which could build a stronger economy.
I disagree on what critical means. If the cars and tech to mfg them disappeared tomorrow, the American economy would crumble. The dependence on them is what makes them critical, they’ve become like air. That’s not to say it has to be that way forever, but it is at the present moment.