When I was a squirt we were a one-car family. That was not unusual in the '50's. I was one of six children and by the '70's our family owned over eight cars, each with a gas-guzzling V-8 engines. Hey, gas was only about 35 cents per gallon. We were told that there was an endless supply of oil.
We all got married and collectively bought six more cars for our spouses, except for my brother Joe. His car was provided to him, but I'll save that story for my "Youngest Sibling Blog". Then, we all moved far away from the city where land was cheap and the houses were big. Life was grand. The six siblings had 19 children and I haven't counted cars lately, but you can see where I'm headed. In a wealthy country with over 300 million people there is not enough fuel and land for the process to continue.
I think it is time to re-think the American Dream.
I've lived the dream. My family of five owned a five bedroom house, five cars, and one enormous custom van. I had the means to pay for it all, but I did not leave much room for error. However, the twenty-somethings today have even less room for error. Our society can no longer expect to have more than the generation before them. But, they can still have a wonderful lifestyle. It will just take a little common sense to make it happen.
Make a list of the things you require and pick a spot somewhere in the middle to call home. My wife and I moved downtown from the burbs to be closer to work, entertainment, restaurants, and virtually everything else that used to require a car. We love it. Each of us has eliminated 15,000 miles of rush hour traffic a year. At 48 cents per mile we have saved over $10,000 per year in commuting cost and untold hours in traffic. We are now planning on being a one-car household again. We live in 40% of the space we used to own. Almost everything costs less now except for one thing-my property taxes.
If everyone exercises their right to vote in the next election, I think we can fix that, too.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Commuting in Indy - Why It's Not for Me
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5 comments:
It always comes back to the property taxes, doesn't it Teddy Meek? Congrats on joining the inner circle of Indy Bloggers! Keep it blogerrific.
Companies should more often offer monetary incentives for employees to carpool, take public transportation, use hybrid vehicles, bike, or live closer to work.
If I bought a vehicle today, it'd be a hybrid b/c the cost of gas is so high and my company pays a portion of the car bill. Makes sense for company loyalty, employee happiness, and the environment.
One of the worst decisions I've made was buying an SUV, albeit a smaller version of one. It is two and a half years old, has 84,000 miles and gets about 20 miles to the gallon. I spend between 3 - 4 hundred bucks a month in gas. If I was smart, I mean Ted Meek smart, I'd have bought a foreign car that gets 28 - 30 miles/gal and forgotten that SUV's even exist.
It kills me when you're right, Big Guy.
I went diesel and get over 40 mpg. Best move I ever made.
I completely agree Americans need to rethink how they use the earth. ANYTHING closer to sustainable would be an improvement. Most Hoosiers still seem to have a sense of entitlement, though. I want cheap gas! I want cheap food! I want a giant suburban house! The land cannot provide, folks...
Ever calc your Eco Footprint? http://www.earthday.org/footprint/index.asp
Dad said I should get a free car on my sixteenth birthday because I was smarter and better looking than the rest of his sons. So I built a bigger house and my vehicles average about 9 miles per gallon. And my sports tickets are choice too. His wisdom of excess must have worked with me. Ha!!!
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