This seems to be a major cause of a lack of social mobility and economically inefficient. When car culture meets governance in the USA normal rules of reason seem to be suspended. Los Angeles seems to be a perfect example. A city so large and rich should have a proper public transportation system that allows any part of the city to be reachable within a commutable hour. But i understand it can take more than 3 hours tocross the city. This limits the chances of poorer people to find work and richer people will probably restrict their own work choices to the local area. Thus skills which should be available to the whole city are limited to a part of it.
Well if you know this then why do you boast, "
I used to ride a
bike and take a
bus, why can't those poor people also ride a bike or take the bus???"
I thought that you are just completely without a clue as to what the USA is like but from the above you are at least remotely aware of the "car culture" we have here. So why do you propose the solution that worked for you in Europe, with your socialized public transportation that is heavily funded and prioritized compared to the USA where it is not prioritized and instead is given over to private companies in many cases? Why do you think that your European, socialist solution is going to work in the USA where we don't have the degree of socialism you enjoy there in Europe?
You again are demonstrating a "do as I say not as I do" attitude in discussing the poor and poverty. You enjoy living in a culture that helps the poor and helped you when you needed it but pontificate to Americans about American problems which you have no experience with.
It's not just Los Angeles. It's virtually anywhere. I live in the NYC metropolitan area, in NJ. For me to get to work I can take a bus but it is expensive because only a private bus company serves my area. I'm only 30 minutes outside the city but I must endure a 90+ minute commute each day by bus. And I'm not poor, yet it's still expensive. I pay over $320 a month for the bus commute and that's because I buy two 20-trip packages per month, at over $160 each. If I were poor, the round-trip per day would be $20, multiplied by 20 days per month it would be $400.
You talk about the bus like it's cheap. HA! give me a break!
As for riding a bike - what would I do with the bike when I get to work? What would I do in inclement weather (e.g. rainstorms, days when there is no room on the road due to 2+ foot snowdrifts, etc.)?? You think it's realistic to ride a bike in a suit and dress shoes to work? Not to mention it would take hours (in good weather).
Then you say one could move to the city or closer to it - but if one does that, the rents go up and offset the commuting costs you face from being farther from the city. And that's if you choose to live in an unsafe area. If you want a safer area or one with decent schools where your kid will be at least safe, it costs more.
The problem you are having, as most conservatives have, is that they are unable to fathom what it's like to be poor in the USA. Or, they are poor and are brainwashed into thinking that somehow social programs hurt them, but they learn quickly when they lose those safety nets and many of them change their tunes.
You're entitled to your opinion and expressing it here, of course. However, it's quickly becoming evident from what you say about American poverty that you're not familiar at all with the issues in the USA. Given that you have lived a life completely apart from American life, I suppose you wouldn't be able to understand, and that's OK, but it really doesn't give you much of a leg to pontificate on.
