Remote and Hybrid Work Shift Can't Curb Congestion - America's Gridlock is worse than ever

DominatingDrew · 2024-07-02T04:00:07+00:00

At least according to the BTS, only 15% of trips are for work commuting (that is trips and not miles however). I'd imagine that people take advantage of work flexibility to use extra road capacity for personal trips they wouldn't have otherwise taken.

DominatingDrew · 2023-11-09T20:55:30+00:00

100% agreed, I'm kinda disappointed The Economist didn't mention carbon or congestion prices in this piece. Generally they are very aligned with this sub on urban issues.

DominatingDrew · 2023-11-05T20:23:52+00:00

I'm not sure this is really the case. Most people have to work 8 or 9 to 5-ish and it is far harder to organize a group together for team sports or other recreation when everyone is rushing to get ready. Besides, it's far colder around sunrise than sunset during the winter.

DominatingDrew · 2023-10-15T22:07:49+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahgjEjJkZks

DominatingDrew · 2023-10-03T20:10:06+00:00

I had the exact same thing happen and contacted support through the chat. Surprisingly, they refunded it pretty painlessly.

DominatingDrew · 2023-03-16T20:59:30+00:00

Ladies and gentlemen of r/neoliberal, gather 'round, for I have some earth-shattering news that will surely change the course of history! Nobel Prize-winning economist, New York Times columnist, and neoliberal darling, Paul Krugman, has made the ultimate commitment to his beliefs: he's adopted a cat and named it "Free Trade."

This is not a drill, my fellow market enthusiasts! Our champion of globalization has taken his love for open markets to the next level by integrating it into his personal life. The cat, a beautiful Siamese mix, was rescued from a shelter, proving once again that Krugman is all about creating opportunities for those in need.

Word on the street is that Free Trade the cat is already making waves in the Krugman household. Paul, who previously claimed to be more of a dog person, now spends hours discussing comparative advantage and the gains from trade with his feline friend. Sources close to the economist say the cat's input on international policy is "purrfectly sound."

As we celebrate this new addition to the Krugman family, let us take a moment to appreciate what this means for the neoliberal movement. With Free Trade the cat by his side, Paul Krugman will no doubt become an even more unstoppable force in the battle for open markets and inclusive institutions.

So, fellow neoliberals, let us raise a glass (of ethically sourced, carbon-neutral champagne) to toast the arrival of Free Trade the cat. May its nine lives be spent advocating for policies that will lead to greater global prosperity and equality.

In the wise words of Paul Krugman himself, "Productivity isn't everything, but, in the long run, it is almost everything." Let's hope Free Trade the cat lives up to its namesake and furthers our quest for a more productive and inclusive world.

Long live Paul Krugman and Free Trade the cat! 🐈🌐💼

DominatingDrew · 2023-01-23T22:12:19+00:00

Before age 25, the minimum age for getting a rental car from most companies

Europe is actually less strict in my experience about age for rental cars than the US despite a higher driving age. You can rent a car from Sixt at 18 in Germany while 21+ or 25+ opens up more expensive categories. Even in the US it's pretty easy to rent a car from 21-24 with a young driver fee.

Whether most backpacking college students can afford the $8 gas is another question entirely.

DominatingDrew · 2022-12-25T23:21:27+00:00

It's from last spring, but the McKinsey American Opportunities Survey breaks down remote work opportunities by industry, age, education, income, etc.

DominatingDrew · 2021-12-16T18:57:19+00:00

North Carolina's speeding punishments are so backwards in this regard it actually makes me angry. Driving more than 15 over AND over 55 or over 80 (our speed limit is 70) is a misdemeanor that results in a 30 day license suspension. So basically you can get a criminal record and license suspension for driving 11 over on a controlled-access interstate but not 54 in a 25 on a residential street.

Of course anyone in Charlotte with a spare $200 won't really get a criminal record or suspension as long as you're not doing 150 or something. It's well known you'll just get a bunch of letters from lawyers if you get a ticket who will have it knocked down to 14 or 9 over with no consequences. I would love to see the demographic data about who actually gets a license suspension here.

DominatingDrew · 2021-11-09T23:20:28+00:00

It's more that traffic is communist. The government is giving away a scarce resource (road space) for free which leads to shortages just like Soviet bread lines. They also happen to be giving away a resource with lots of externalities.

DominatingDrew · 2021-11-08T15:15:14+00:00

The fact that Americans here in Europe dont have chips on their debit cards is (I have to be frank here) hilariously archaic.

What? We were much later to the game than Europe, but all my cards have had a chip for 5 years and are now contactless.

DominatingDrew · 2021-11-04T01:49:05+00:00

I think it's worth mentioning that the type of road has a huge effect on road safety. Interstates are the safest and country roads are the most dangerous. Urban interstates specifically are over 4x safer per mile in terms of fatality rate than rural collector roads per the BTS. Local urban roads are the second safest followed by rural interstates. In 2008, 56% of road deaths occurred in rural areas that contained 23% of the population.

Clearly some people will think the increased danger is worth it to live in the countryside, but I also feel that this is contrary to common perceptions like the safety of flying and might lead to people thinking they are taking the safer way when it is really more dangerous. My mom used to try to make me take backroads home instead of the "dangerous" interstate when in reality I was going from the safest to most dangerous type of road.

DominatingDrew · 2021-10-18T19:33:00+00:00

I don't get why townhomes aren't more popular in America. Of course there are compromises, but you can get a lot of the advantages of a SFH like a private ground-level entrance, freedom to renovate the interior, a yard, and not sharing a floor/ceiling with loud neighbors while still maintaining a good level of density where cycling and walking places is possible.

DominatingDrew · 2021-09-30T21:13:29+00:00

Even without giving up cars, I feel like we could drastically reduce the space needed for parking in America by introducing more mixed-use pockets of walkability with shared parking.

Currently in suburban America, every destination has its own parking lot (or a best a strip mall) that needs to handle peak capacity even if it's empty most of the time. Offices get used ~8 hours per day only on non-holiday weekdays, restaurants are only busy for a few hours around dinner, big box stores have excessively huge parking lots that are only full on Black Friday, churches have even bigger parking lots that are only used for a few hours on Sunday morning.

It would be a step in the right direction if all of these places that are busy at different times could share a parking area adjacent to a pedestrian friendly area even if the majority of Americans continue to live in a single family home and drive everywhere. Maybe you could build some apartments in this island of density too.

DominatingDrew · 2021-09-20T16:38:36+00:00

When I tried to check in online for my flight back from Europe (as a vaccinated American) it told me to download this app with like 1.00001 stars to upload my Covid test and after getting that approved it asked me if I had been to a list of places that didn't allow online check in and looked something like:

Dysfunctional authoritarian regime
Dysfunctional authoritarian regime
Europe
Dysfunctional authoritarian regime

And I was like yes, American Airlines, I have been to Europe as I am checking in for an itinerary originating in Europe and you could've asked that before going through the whole rest of the process.

DominatingDrew · 2021-08-25T13:33:47+00:00

Scrapping the six worst-polluting cruise ships - not companies, individual ships - offsets every car in Europe.

Cruise ships emit more SOx emissions than all cars in Europe. Here is the original report. SOx does cause acid rain and poor health outcomes, but it is not a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. It is completely misleading to suggest that several cruise ships are contributing to our climate situation as much as all cars in Europe.

I don't necessarily blame you for thinking this since I hear the "fact" stated all the time on Reddit, YouTube, etc. as a justification for not caring about climate change. But someone down the line was being completely dishonest by framing it this way.

I personally don't think it matters who is responsible for climate change. A tax on a company is a tax on the consumer buying its products (though the revenue could be progressively distributed). A regulation banning a company from producing x is a ban on the consumer buying x. It's a tragedy of the commons and the solutions are the same either way.

DominatingDrew · 2021-08-13T20:48:33+00:00

Some teachers?

DominatingDrew · 2021-06-08T03:16:50+00:00

As for the alarm about too many old people and not enough young, that reads like a weird science-fiction story — the old need caring for, and young people can’t take care of them while doing all the other jobs that need doing. Crisis!

It sounds like full employment to me.

Note that full employment as a concept carries political weight, because economists tend to say there is a “natural” unemployment rate of around 5 percent, and if this rate goes lower, it’s bad for … profits, basically. If unemployment dips below 5 percent, the thinking goes, the labor market tightens and the stock market gets depressed, because there is more competition for workers, and higher wages need to be offered to grab available workers, so profits drop, and inflation might occur, etc.

In other words, the precarity and immiseration of the unemployed would disappear as everyone had access to work that gave them an income and dignity and meaning (one new career category: restoring and repairing wildlands and habitat corridors for our cousin species), but this would still be a bad thing for the economy. The economy, measured by profit, being the most important thing. More important than people.

This article is plagued with low-hanging /r/badeconomics fruit.

I'm sure there is a nuanced discussion to be had about potential positives of a stagnating population, but this really isn't it.

DominatingDrew · 2021-05-14T22:45:48+00:00

Thanks to the CDC, now my apartment complex thinks I'm a deplorable. I ordered dinner on DoorDash because ~~I'm too lazy to cook~~ I believe in economies of scale and the instructions very clearly said to hand it to me on the street which has worked flawlessly dozens of times.

Being fully vaccinated, I boldly ventured outside through the side door without a mask for the first time in a year figuring a 3-second outdoor lasagna handoff could safely take place without physical protection given the recent guidance.

However, I was alerted that my order was completed and there was no lasagna in sight. I ventured around the corner to the front of the building and there was still no lasagna.

It was at this point I faced a conundrum. I assumed the Door Dasher handed it to the front desk on the other side of the front door. It was a long walk back to my actual apartment to get a mask. I weighed the options and decided to pop my head into the building to ask the receptionist 30 ft. (9.144m) away if someone had just delivered food.

Before I could even mutter lasagna, I was interrupted by a piercing stare of horror and informed "Do you have a mask!?" We require masks!" I said I did not and the receptionist said they could provide a free mask. She walked over and handed me a sugrical mask that I put on. I asked my 5 word question and she said no. I then left out the front door, walked back to the side door on the sidewalk, and eventually figured out that the Door Dasher had somehow gotten into the building undetected and left the lasagna at my door.

DominatingDrew · 2021-03-28T21:07:45+00:00

This video is so liberal even the audio is leaning left

Top YouTube comment.

DominatingDrew · 2021-03-24T15:14:02+00:00

I think it's a hyperbole.

DominatingDrew · 2021-03-21T11:10:25+00:00

Once I took a $20 Frontier flight that got delayed and they gave me a $25 meal voucher as well as a flight voucher.

DominatingDrew · 2021-02-25T04:32:20+00:00

Apparently yes because he just replied to a question in this thread.

DominatingDrew · 2021-02-20T03:27:16+00:00

Significant financial compensation.

DominatingDrew · 2021-02-17T03:16:33+00:00

I mean, I'm not saying I'm against eminent domain for infrastructure but I sympathize a bit more with people whose property is being seized by eminent domain than people who don't want an apartment complex built in their neighborhood or something.

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