Re: Risk Homeostasis - Drivers and Cyclists

"Tom Sherman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> Northern Europe has gas taxes in this range, considerably higher minimum
> wages, much shorter average work weeks, yet does not suffer to any
> serious extent the problems mentioned above. Unless the Northern
> European people are somehow inherently better than those in the US are,
> the arguments do not stand up. And yes, on average they drive much more
> sensibly sized motor vehicles.

And considerably less productivity and employment and fewer people own cars.
Fortunatly for them the infrastructer gives them the ability to exist
without a car which in most areas is not possible here. As far as sensibly
sized motor vehicles, with the exception of the Mini, vehicles in Europe
don't seem to be any smaller or larger than ours here in the US. They just
have less per captia than we do.

When you are a company who relies on parts and employees and you raise the
cost of bringing in those parts (the added gas tax) and raise the cost of
that employee (higher minimum wage) you will soon have neither the parts or
the employees. In my industry most of the manufacturing is now overseas or
in Mexico because of manufacturing costs alone. You will never see the
benefits of that added tax money because it will not exist.

It all sounds good Tom until it's implemented :)