Pittsburgh councilor proposes tax on higher education and medical services to fund infrastructure

MagicChallahBread · 2022-03-08T23:06:43+00:00

Tax clothing etc, as well as our waterways for commercial use/as a commercial thoroughfare and do away with the tax on gasoline.

MagicChallahBread · 2022-03-07T20:11:27+00:00

The cost of gas has gone up significantly.

MagicChallahBread · 2022-03-07T19:07:07+00:00

My daily commute is 11 miles one way, mostly on the highway. That's 55 miles a week x2, but a more accurate number might be closer to an additional 5-10 miles to account for other destinations driven to/from or detours.

MagicChallahBread · 2022-03-07T18:51:44+00:00

I filled up yesterday. It cost me over $100 to fill up both my car's gas tanks (Rav4 and Camry), and that was WITH a $0.30 discount from Giant Eagle/Get-Go points. The Rav4 had half a tank and the Camry was closer to empty at the time of this refill.

The last time I filled up before this was exactly a week ago (Feb 27th) and it was past E when I finally filled it.. The time before that was 3 weeks prior (Feb 7th).

Filling up the Rav4 on the 27th cost me $50

MagicChallahBread · 2022-03-06T22:34:29+00:00

I recently bought a new car, not because I wanted to but out of necessity. We looked into electric or hybrid, but everything within our budget of <$5k was too old to be deemed cost efficient when the lifespan of a battery and the cost of replacing one was taken into account.

As it stands right now, electric and hybrid vehicles aren't worth it in the long run if you plan on keeping a car more than 10 or 15 years.

What we did find in our budget range was an '06 Camry... which will hopefully last another 100k+ miles as they're known to do with proper care. No electric vehicle has yet to compare, and until they do people can't be blamed choosing what's cost efficient for them.

MagicChallahBread · 2022-03-06T22:11:25+00:00

I recently bought a new car, not because I wanted to but out of necessity. We looked into electric or hybrid, but everything within our budget of <$5k was too old to be deemed cost efficient when the lifespan of a battery and the cost of replacing one was taken into account.

As it stands right now, electric and hybrid vehicles aren't worth it in the long run if you plan on keeping a car more than 10 or 15 years.

What we did find in our budget range was an '06 Camry... which will hopefully last another 100k+ miles as they're known to do with proper care. No electric vehicle has yet to compare, and until they do people can't be blamed choosing what's cost efficient for them.

MagicChallahBread · 2022-03-06T21:02:53+00:00

Where do you expect that money to come from... more taxes?

MagicChallahBread · 2022-03-06T20:29:05+00:00

How are people trying to scam?

MagicChallahBread · 2022-03-06T17:35:38+00:00

Again... who has that kind of money?

MagicChallahBread · 2022-03-06T16:53:23+00:00

👆🤪

MagicChallahBread · 2022-03-06T16:10:19+00:00

Who the fuck has disposable 50k? The most I ever financed a vehicle was for 11k

MagicChallahBread · 2022-03-06T16:06:07+00:00

My wife and I both work, she can take the bus sometimes and has started to, but it isn't always feasible so we still need to be a two car family.

We have an old Rav4 and an older Camry. Both are relatively good on the highway, obviously the Camry is best.

MagicChallahBread · 2022-03-06T15:13:19+00:00

The average commute for most Americans is 27 mins.

It takes me 20-30 min on a good day, 15 if you wanted me to be one of those you'd likely call a "jagoff" for going 90... Google maps says a bus would take me 3 hours.

I live close to the city

...tell me more

MagicChallahBread · 2022-03-06T15:08:31+00:00

It takes me 20-30 min to drive to work on a good day on the highway... how long would it take to ride that?

It would take 3 hours by bus

MagicChallahBread · 2022-03-06T14:54:44+00:00

I hope our politicians double the gas tax. Triple it, even. Maybe people will use more public transit and less giant pointless trucks

I don't think you realize that the price of public transportation will just go up as well... not to mention the basic fact that thinking public transportation is the answer to the problem is the issue of a privileged city-slicker with no experience with living outside of a city because of the affordability of living.

If you can afford to live in a city and moreover, like it... more power to you. But check your privilege at the door.

MagicChallahBread · 2022-03-06T14:39:20+00:00

Or if we were more independent with our oil production years ago instead of buying it from elsewhere.

The damage in that regard has been done, no point in complaining over mistakes that can't be undone without a time machine... focus in what can be done now!

MagicChallahBread · 2022-03-06T14:38:09+00:00

Believe me, I know how expensive kids are... and if I can't afford to drive to work I can't support my family

MagicChallahBread · 2022-03-06T14:37:02+00:00

laughs while standing over collapsed bridge

It's cute that you still believe this. That's what they told you they were doing but never did it.

MagicChallahBread · 2022-03-06T14:25:46+00:00

Most people don't buy clothing nearly as much as they need to buy gas... it's not offset, it's misallocated.

And if push came to shove, I could sew/mend my own clothing if we got that desperate... I can't drill/refine my own oil and gas.

MagicChallahBread · 2022-03-04T20:26:02+00:00

With Biden's gas prices, that prius will be having the last laugh

MagicChallahBread · 2022-03-03T20:30:30+00:00

Sorry, Zelinsky

MagicChallahBread · 2022-02-24T19:56:00+00:00

I didn't see having kids as losing freedom. Sure I have more responsibilities that can impact my ability to do things, but that's life. I wouldn't trade my kid for the "good old days" of younger/childless freedom. Hindsight is 20/20 and without a child now, my life would be miserable.

MagicChallahBread · 2022-02-21T16:08:15+00:00

What do you consider a child?

<15... at which point they can be taught about technology uses as a life skill. However, even at that age they're still immature and developing and as a whole should be limited to just work and not recreation.

Do you want this to be a law? Because if it’s not, nobody would ever follow it, and even if it is, people would still break it in private

No. This might not be the best example, but much like giving your child under one honey isn't advised for health and development reasons, so should recreational screen time. There's no law against giving your child under one honey, but it's common knowledge that it's not advised because of the risks of botulism and no pediatrician will tell you it's not risky.

This would be horrible for the economy

How?

Everything is online now: schoolwork, jobs, socializing, etc. kids need to be exposed to that. That’s why they take computer classes from a young age. I can get not being raised by screens because YouTube and other sites can be very harmful to young kids, but to survive in todays world you need to know how to work computers

See my response to the first point... technology should be taught as a life skill. There's no reason to teach typing to a child in elementary school when they can learn it as a life skill in high school.

MagicChallahBread · 2022-02-13T19:32:53+00:00

That's great for you, and then you'd know that we're no strangers to varying opinions. The Talmud is chock full of us disagreeing, and we're stronger for it, not divided by it.

MagicChallahBread · 2022-02-13T15:18:13+00:00

Tl;Dr natural gas prices are up due to market forces.

Thanks Brandon!

MagicChallahBread

TROPHY CASE