Saturday, September 1, 2012

Another take on why teens don't like cars

If you thought Eric Reguly missed the story, check out this American perspective from Stephen Cox.

American kids fell out of love with the automobile because their parents fell out of love with freedom.

Cox negotiates a winding road to arrive at his conclusion, and he makes some salient points, but like Reguly he wants to avoid the main issue and focus on peripherals.

The core issue is the standard of living among the working people of America, and were Cox to take that on he'd find himself writing for the Daily Worker instead of some sexy we-love-cars site. Not likely that'll you'll get a chance to road test the latest Shelby Mustang at the Daily Worker, so I understand why Cox spins the story the way he does.

At the same time he's avoiding the truth. Why could a typical teen a generation or two ago keep a car on the road on the strength of a part-time job?

Because unions were strong and jobs were plentiful and off-shoring hadn't been invented.

After thirty years of union-bashing and right-to-work and the hedge-fund sharpies shipping entire industries to Mexico and China, things aren't looking that rosy for any working people, including teens with part-time jobs.

At least they can still afford iPhones and Nikes.

For now.

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