Say Uncle notices a trend and that …You know, doesn’t make me think we’re raising a generation of independent people., while Sebastian has an extended conversation going-on in comments on how .Gov policies and incentives are undercutting the value of cars, independence, and travel itself. My small contribution in response favors the Kevin Baker School of Educational Dysfunction and Dysplasia: for the past fifteen or more years Auto-Shop has not been offered in High School unless you are “lucky” enough to live in a poor School District that serves the local blue-collar industries like trucking and heavy equipment (East Bay) where there might be a demand – or even a special “Occupational” school with such classes.
It used-to be that you could learn how cars work in H.S., and even build one on the cheap in spare time out of spare parts, or buy a broken one and fix it up. Obama’s Cash-for-Clunkers pretty much drove the final nail in that coffin. So many used cars were removed from dealer inventory, purely out of spite and malice, that used vehicles are no longer available cheaply for the poor or Middle-Class, nor are parts. IMO it’s part of Obama’s city-centric vision and plan of Hate the Suburbs. That’s not too new, since Algore the EcoProphet told us that we all needed to be rounded up into some series of gigantic megalopolis people-farms in order/on orders from Sustainable Communities and Whirled Peas – and for Smart (Progressive) People to have Smart (limited) Growth to save the Globular Eco-system from all the People-Warming.
One City-oriented commenter said that people are trending to live in or closer to cities nowadays – which is too bad if it’s true and represents some of the success of Identity Politics and compartmentalization. The Left and the Green’s anti-suburb campaign, as seen in Stanley Kurtz’ book, Spreading the Wealth: How Obama is Robbing the Suburbs to Pay for the Cities, is an on-going movement – but what of Detroit? Seems like turning that place back to farmland might be more viable.
Since I’m not a fan of Cities or Teh City I’m glad that in over 20 years living here that the damn City hasn’t gotten any closer. I haven’t been up to the City in years – there’s nothing there of any real interest to me. Culture? It’s full of stuck-up hipster neck-beards, gay and LBGT strutting peacocks, the appallingly rich and senseless, and homeless beggars peeing in doorways. Food: the price is atrocious and unaffordable – and who knows what’s actually IN the food? It’s a city, not The Country – it’s concrete not Nature. Meanwhile it literally stinks, the parking sucks, and if you take City “rapid transit” it’s awkward and unfamiliar (along with smelly neckbeards and peeing winos) – and you’re likely to get mugged and wind up in an strange location. Maybe the City People like it that way, but there’s no reason for me to go there.
But sadly Google has become the 800-lb gorilla and moved into the ‘burbs, and has kinda ruined it here. They have driven up housing costs for the locals while the subsidized and pampered Googldroids stumble (and bicycle) around in Condition White – the perpetually-extend GradStudent lifestyle, with their every whim catered-to at the “Campus” – from food to hair-cuts to car-washes to oil-changes. You see, BIG SECRET – a lot of them buy cars, and that little tennis-shoe looking car-thing from Lotus is quite popular, besides The Standard Poodle Prius. Saw one (Prius) the other day that was somewhat atypical, but I believe is becoming more common: one headlight was out, the side had a couple real good scrapes from half-assed piloting, and the driver was hunched over the wheel smoking a cigarette. That’s Modern Life, folks! When you’re done with the Prius, drop it off in a recycling bin with the plastic-bags…
Not Clauswitz 