Author Topic: Relatives who just don't get it  (Read 3739962 times)

six-car-habit

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5300 on: April 21, 2019, 11:03:00 PM »




So, I'm back with family over Easter and catching up with all the family gossip. This family runs a hotel and on the ground floor, there's a large hall that can hold 400 people for events. This hasn't been used in many years, but the father's cars are stored there and it serves as an entertainment room for the kids. There's  a TV and sofa, a full wall of mirrors and a stage. The son uses it to watch hockey matches, and the daughter for occasional parties. Recently it's come to light that the costs of running this hall (utilities, maintenance etc) is around $16 000 a year. I just ... don't even really know what to say.

 If its rated to hold 400 guests it must be pretty sizable.   In car terms, this sounds like a place that can hold 10 + vehicles, in safe, dry, warm inside storage. Plus+ a hang out space and probably plenty of room for air hockey and pinball machines, library corner , probably has large bathrooms, etc.     Must have a garage door [?]
   Bring down a microwave + electric griddle, plug in a fridge.  You've basically got a massive studio apartment + inside storage for 10 vehicles for $1300 a month. Build up some walls or partitions .  Sounds great actually.....
   Kind of strange with a hotel just above it though, and hopefuly hockey son doesn't make it a long time domain.  But i understand the dad storing his cars in it, haha.

KathrinS

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5301 on: April 22, 2019, 10:53:48 PM »




So, I'm back with family over Easter and catching up with all the family gossip. This family runs a hotel and on the ground floor, there's a large hall that can hold 400 people for events. This hasn't been used in many years, but the father's cars are stored there and it serves as an entertainment room for the kids. There's  a TV and sofa, a full wall of mirrors and a stage. The son uses it to watch hockey matches, and the daughter for occasional parties. Recently it's come to light that the costs of running this hall (utilities, maintenance etc) is around $16 000 a year. I just ... don't even really know what to say.

 If its rated to hold 400 guests it must be pretty sizable.   In car terms, this sounds like a place that can hold 10 + vehicles, in safe, dry, warm inside storage. Plus+ a hang out space and probably plenty of room for air hockey and pinball machines, library corner , probably has large bathrooms, etc.     Must have a garage door [?]
   Bring down a microwave + electric griddle, plug in a fridge.  You've basically got a massive studio apartment + inside storage for 10 vehicles for $1300 a month. Build up some walls or partitions .  Sounds great actually.....
   Kind of strange with a hotel just above it though, and hopefuly hockey son doesn't make it a long time domain.  But i understand the dad storing his cars in it, haha.

Well, when my grandparents managed it, the hotel used to also be a restaurant, so they used to hold the larger events in there. It also has a stage, so every year there would be theater shows and concerts. But ever since my uncle took over and changed it into just a hotel about 8 years ago, it hasn't been used. He just let his kids play in it and hold their parties. Just seems very decadent to me. Oh, and I forgot to mention that the son has a fully equipped fitness studio in there, as well. To himself, no hotel guests allowed.

It seems that it'll be under new management soon, so this all will stop. It'll probably start being used again for some of the things you suggested, or maybe rented out to a business. Would be a great space for exercise classes, for example.

ambimammular

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5302 on: April 28, 2019, 09:46:39 AM »
I love my brother but, damn, that guy can spend. And justify it too!

They've got two little kidlets and a nice house. And my bro needed a powerhouse of a truck. (Truely needs it for the business; hauls trailers through fields on a weekly basis.) But he bought one that was too big to fit in his garage. He has to park in the driveway.

So naturally, you've got to sell the house! And get one with a shop to hold the truck and camper. Sure, there is the new shop that he literally built last year on an acre of land that has been just fine for holding the camper until this point. And you could always park at the old shop which is just as large. Or even, park the work truck and camper outdoors. But what do I know.

BeautifulDay

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5303 on: April 29, 2019, 06:33:23 PM »
My niece is getting married.  There’s been some talk of getting married in Mexico.  But yesterday she decided to get married at a venue slightly closer to home. Not sure that this will help the wedding itself be cheaper.  But this will be cheaper for me and the time of year is better for me as well. So selfishly I was glad.

I told me brother I was glad of the change because the prior dates were a no go for my schedule. Brother proceeds to tell me how great the Mexico trip would have been with all these excursions he had planned for everyone, and anyway “Dad (our dad) will be paying for everything.” 

The fleecing of my elderly father absolutely pisses me off.

So asked my mom if dad was paying for the niece’s wedding. Mom says no, brother is remortgaging the house and business to pay for the wedding. Mom then says dad is just helping my brother with his business and not with the wedding.

So in other words, when brother defaults on the business loan dad will end up bailing him out. This is almost guaranteed to happen since brother is already relying on on dad to keep business going without the additional debt. One way or another dad pays for the wedding.

Cassie

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5304 on: April 29, 2019, 07:08:48 PM »
BF, can you talk your parents out of this? I would hate to see your parents broke in their old age. We are in our 60’s and you cannot recover financially at this age.

BeautifulDay

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5305 on: April 29, 2019, 07:58:36 PM »
I’ve tried. I get nowhere with them.  They break my heart.

Just Joe

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5306 on: April 30, 2019, 08:31:00 AM »
Tell brother that if the parents go broke they will be living with him...

BeautifulDay

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5307 on: April 30, 2019, 06:40:59 PM »
Tell brother that if the parents go broke they will be living with him...

Agreed.  I’d help my mom, but not my dad.  Mom has no control over this shit show.

And when my brother eventually goes broke, he won’t get a dime from me.

Misstachian

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5308 on: June 09, 2019, 08:29:34 PM »
Husband's family member is about to try medical fixes to fertility challenges, which I'm super empathetic about as we faced these as well. (As has been well noted in other threads, yes we know there are other ways to have kids, no adoption and fostering are not cheap, easy, or for everyone at every moment of life.) When I first heard about their plans a few months ago, I suggested she try to save some money then, since I know they live paycheck to paycheck. She said she couldn't, and eating out many nights a week is her great joy. They live their lives very publicly on social media so it's hard to miss just how often they're eating out, etc.

Now it's getting real, though. She freaked out to me about the money when she learned insurance will cover none of it, so I gently noted that even if she wanted to keep eating out, maybe she could try to do that only once or twice a week? Or, since in the last two weeks she has posted about five Target outings for fancy clothes, shoes, and handbags, I suggested trying not to shop for anything but essentials?

No. She said she needs to eat out to be happy and she needs to shop to feel better about her life. At that point I realized I was rather rudely offering advice no one had asked for and stopped, and I guess it's self-aware to an extent that she knows why she spends, but I feel sad for her. She's so stressed, and I know how miserable she feels, but it's hard to hear "having a baby is the most important thing" while also hearing "restaurants and shopping are the most important thing" without wanting to shake her a bit.

Update:
Relative's fertility challenges continued and the cheaper fixes failed. (I was/am very empathetic, we had the same trials and we were in touch about the process frequently.)

She and her husband took out a $20,000 loan for IVF. They spent something like $19k plus had to do lots of meds and it took lots of blood, sweat, and tears to get an embryo.

At that point they realized their marriage wasn’t working and sought, and got, a divorce.

She told me that in addition to the $20k fertility loan, and their mortgage, they also have sizable credit card debt across three cards. "We’re still paying for his wedding suit!" Dividing that up was very stressful. We spent a lot of time researching how this could be done fairly, and I answered a bunch of money questions and encouraged and cheerleaded.

She began dating someone else quickly (great! Glad she’s happier). Then she shamefacedly announced to me that they’d booked a 7 night trip to Mexico at an all-inclusive resort. "I know, I know. You only live once, Misstachian!"

(She hasn’t sought financial advice since. And needless to say I haven’t offered!)


cloudsail

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5309 on: June 09, 2019, 11:47:08 PM »
It's really hard watching these train wrecks happen especially when they're someone close to you. The huge disconnect between indiscriminate spending and financial hardship is something I've never been able to understand, yet it afflicts a tragically large percentage of the population.

GreenToTheCore

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5310 on: June 17, 2019, 10:37:21 PM »
Well, my father just threw me for a loop.

Told him how I rented a bike instead of a car for a work trip and he said I was mooching off of the city's infrastructure and preventing them from earning money from the tax on the rental car and gas.
The only thing I could think to say was "Well, then they should figure out a different revenue stream."
A "Good job, daughter. You're prioritizing your health and preventing a pot belly like mine that has caused numerous back problems," would've been nice.

What the actual flippin' ___.
What have we come to that not driving a car means we're unethical and damaging communities?

flipboard

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5311 on: June 17, 2019, 11:10:22 PM »
Well, my father just threw me for a loop.

Told him how I rented a bike instead of a car for a work trip and he said I was mooching off of the city's infrastructure and preventing them from earning money from the tax on the rental car and gas.
The only thing I could think to say was "Well, then they should figure out a different revenue stream."
A "Good job, daughter. You're prioritizing your health and preventing a pot belly like mine that has caused numerous back problems," would've been nice.

What the actual flippin' ___.
What have we come to that not driving a car means we're unethical and damaging communities?
I have noticed that people in some places/countries are very anti-bike indoctrinated. (Very noticeable when they then start spouting off about people without bicycle helmets after moving to other countries and seeing how people cycle there.)

(And no, car taxes don't actually cover road costs either. Never mind the externalisation of pollution and noise costs that definitely isn't covered.)

Dan408

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5312 on: June 18, 2019, 06:05:47 AM »
Well, my father just threw me for a loop.

Told him how I rented a bike instead of a car for a work trip and he said I was mooching off of the city's infrastructure and preventing them from earning money from the tax on the rental car and gas.
The only thing I could think to say was "Well, then they should figure out a different revenue stream."
A "Good job, daughter. You're prioritizing your health and preventing a pot belly like mine that has caused numerous back problems," would've been nice.

What the actual flippin' ___.
What have we come to that not driving a car means we're unethical and damaging communities?

"If people didn't drive so many cars, the infrastructure wouldn't be so expensive."

or

"A car weighs 100x what a bike does. I'm using 100x less infrastructure."

or, if he's very conservative

"Why should I pay for a road built for someone else's car? That's socialism. Why are you promoting needlessly paying taxes? You sound like a Democrat"


Kris

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5313 on: June 18, 2019, 07:07:14 AM »
Well, my father just threw me for a loop.

Told him how I rented a bike instead of a car for a work trip and he said I was mooching off of the city's infrastructure and preventing them from earning money from the tax on the rental car and gas.
The only thing I could think to say was "Well, then they should figure out a different revenue stream."
A "Good job, daughter. You're prioritizing your health and preventing a pot belly like mine that has caused numerous back problems," would've been nice.

What the actual flippin' ___.
What have we come to that not driving a car means we're unethical and damaging communities?
I have noticed that people in some places/countries are very anti-bike indoctrinated. (Very noticeable when they then start spouting off about people without bicycle helmets after moving to other countries and seeing how people cycle there.)

(And no, car taxes don't actually cover road costs either. Never mind the externalisation of pollution and noise costs that definitely isn't covered.)

Yep. An ex-friend of mine (we ran in the same crowd in h.s.) started the long process of becoming an ex-friend when she drove in from the suburbs in her freaking enormous SUV to pick me up for a shopping trip (that I didn’t even want to go on but I was trying to be nice and just go with what she wanted to do) and she spent a good ten minutes railing against all the people on bikes she had to share the road with. She admitted to me that she didn’t feel bikes had any place on city streets because they are “for cars” and slowed her down. There was real anger in her voice.

Tasse

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5314 on: June 18, 2019, 12:55:12 PM »
I had a similar experience (though confused rather than accusatory) when I mentioned to my mom that maybe I'll be able to get a used electric car by the time my current (gas) car dies. She didn't think it would save any money, because apparently in the midwestern state where I grew up, you have to pay a big annual tax to make up for the fact that you aren't paying gas taxes.

I explained that isn't a thing in California; in fact there is a big tax break for buying new electric cars, plus access to the carpool lanes. Electric cars are incentivized.

"So then how do they pay to keep up the roads?"

I'm not actually sure what the long-term plan is, but de-incentivizing the switch away from fossil fuels does not sound like a great strategy!

DadJokes

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5315 on: June 18, 2019, 01:06:07 PM »
I had a similar experience (though confused rather than accusatory) when I mentioned to my mom that maybe I'll be able to get a used electric car by the time my current (gas) car dies. She didn't think it would save any money, because apparently in the midwestern state where I grew up, you have to pay a big annual tax to make up for the fact that you aren't paying gas taxes.

I explained that isn't a thing in California; in fact there is a big tax break for buying new electric cars, plus access to the carpool lanes. Electric cars are incentivized.

"So then how do they pay to keep up the roads?"

I'm not actually sure what the long-term plan is, but de-incentivizing the switch away from fossil fuels does not sound like a great strategy!

I believe I've heard mention in my state of increasing vehicle registration fees for electric vehicles. I get that it is a disincentive to get an electric car if you no longer get that tax break, but the roads still have to be paid for by those who use them, so it makes sense to me to find some way to make electric car drivers pay their fair share for the roads they use.

ysette9

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5316 on: June 18, 2019, 01:16:40 PM »
I had a similar experience (though confused rather than accusatory) when I mentioned to my mom that maybe I'll be able to get a used electric car by the time my current (gas) car dies. She didn't think it would save any money, because apparently in the midwestern state where I grew up, you have to pay a big annual tax to make up for the fact that you aren't paying gas taxes.

I explained that isn't a thing in California; in fact there is a big tax break for buying new electric cars, plus access to the carpool lanes. Electric cars are incentivized.

"So then how do they pay to keep up the roads?"

I'm not actually sure what the long-term plan is, but de-incentivizing the switch away from fossil fuels does not sound like a great strategy!

I believe I've heard mention in my state of increasing vehicle registration fees for electric vehicles. I get that it is a disincentive to get an electric car if you no longer get that tax break, but the roads still have to be paid for by those who use them, so it makes sense to me to find some way to make electric car drivers pay their fair share for the roads they use.
What we really need to be doing is converting more roads to toll roads to make the clear connection between using something and paying for it.

slugline

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5317 on: June 18, 2019, 01:20:16 PM »
I believe I've heard mention in my state of increasing vehicle registration fees for electric vehicles. I get that it is a disincentive to get an electric car if you no longer get that tax break, but the roads still have to be paid for by those who use them, so it makes sense to me to find some way to make electric car drivers pay their fair share for the roads they use.

It this Illinois? I heard about the proposal to make the registration fee an eye-popping $1000 for an EV there. I have a really hard time believing that there are any gas-burning car owners that are driving enough to pay $1000/year in gasoline taxes:

$1000 divided by 37 cents/gallon (IL gas tax) times 39 miles/gallon (CAFE standard for cars) = 105405 miles

Even taxis aren't driven that much!

DadJokes

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5318 on: June 18, 2019, 02:16:09 PM »
I believe I've heard mention in my state of increasing vehicle registration fees for electric vehicles. I get that it is a disincentive to get an electric car if you no longer get that tax break, but the roads still have to be paid for by those who use them, so it makes sense to me to find some way to make electric car drivers pay their fair share for the roads they use.

It this Illinois? I heard about the proposal to make the registration fee an eye-popping $1000 for an EV there. I have a really hard time believing that there are any gas-burning car owners that are driving enough to pay $1000/year in gasoline taxes:

$1000 divided by 37 cents/gallon (IL gas tax) times 39 miles/gallon (CAFE standard for cars) = 105405 miles

Even taxis aren't driven that much!

No, Tennessee - I just looked it up and found out that the legislation was actually passed in 2017, but it's just an additional $100 added onto registration fees (normally ~$80). It would take 14.7k miles in a gas-powered car at 39 miles/gallon (not sure where that number is coming from). That's certainly on the high end, but not terribly unreasonable, since they are also getting out of the 18.4 cent federal gas tax.

I wonder if the federal government ever tries to come up with a way to tax miles on electric cars...

Slow&Steady

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5319 on: June 18, 2019, 03:07:16 PM »
I believe I've heard mention in my state of increasing vehicle registration fees for electric vehicles. I get that it is a disincentive to get an electric car if you no longer get that tax break, but the roads still have to be paid for by those who use them, so it makes sense to me to find some way to make electric car drivers pay their fair share for the roads they use.

It this Illinois? I heard about the proposal to make the registration fee an eye-popping $1000 for an EV there. I have a really hard time believing that there are any gas-burning car owners that are driving enough to pay $1000/year in gasoline taxes:

$1000 divided by 37 cents/gallon (IL gas tax) times 39 miles/gallon (CAFE standard for cars) = 105405 miles

Even taxis aren't driven that much!

No, Tennessee - I just looked it up and found out that the legislation was actually passed in 2017, but it's just an additional $100 added onto registration fees (normally ~$80). It would take 14.7k miles in a gas-powered car at 39 miles/gallon (not sure where that number is coming from). That's certainly on the high end, but not terribly unreasonable, since they are also getting out of the 18.4 cent federal gas tax.

I wonder if the federal government ever tries to come up with a way to tax miles on electric cars...
I have heard rumors about this happening in my state too (none of the ones listed above).  I am an EV driver and agree with the toll road option but don't think that will really ever happen so paying an increased fee at registration seems like the fastest/easiest way for the state to collect money from me for the roads that I use.

Now if they could just figure out a way to maintain the roads I drive so that I am not replacing tires and tie-rods multiple times a year that would be awesome.  (Yes I should watch for potholes better, but when the damn thing wasn't there yesterday but is today and is bigger than my entire car I cannot avoid that without cause more damage)

economista

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5320 on: June 19, 2019, 07:17:31 AM »
I believe I've heard mention in my state of increasing vehicle registration fees for electric vehicles. I get that it is a disincentive to get an electric car if you no longer get that tax break, but the roads still have to be paid for by those who use them, so it makes sense to me to find some way to make electric car drivers pay their fair share for the roads they use.

It this Illinois? I heard about the proposal to make the registration fee an eye-popping $1000 for an EV there. I have a really hard time believing that there are any gas-burning car owners that are driving enough to pay $1000/year in gasoline taxes:

$1000 divided by 37 cents/gallon (IL gas tax) times 39 miles/gallon (CAFE standard for cars) = 105405 miles

Even taxis aren't driven that much!

No, Tennessee - I just looked it up and found out that the legislation was actually passed in 2017, but it's just an additional $100 added onto registration fees (normally ~$80). It would take 14.7k miles in a gas-powered car at 39 miles/gallon (not sure where that number is coming from). That's certainly on the high end, but not terribly unreasonable, since they are also getting out of the 18.4 cent federal gas tax.

I wonder if the federal government ever tries to come up with a way to tax miles on electric cars...
I have heard rumors about this happening in my state too (none of the ones listed above).  I am an EV driver and agree with the toll road option but don't think that will really ever happen so paying an increased fee at registration seems like the fastest/easiest way for the state to collect money from me for the roads that I use.

Now if they could just figure out a way to maintain the roads I drive so that I am not replacing tires and tie-rods multiple times a year that would be awesome.  (Yes I should watch for potholes better, but when the damn thing wasn't there yesterday but is today and is bigger than my entire car I cannot avoid that without cause more damage)

This is the case in CO as well, but I would love to have such cheap car registration. The normal registration for a new car is around $600-$900 depending on the weight of the vehicle. When I just bought my EV a few months ago I was annoyed there was an extra $50 fee tacked on for it being an EV. However, we do get a state tax credit of $5000 for purchasing an EV, so I guess it is still incentivized, but I really don’t like disincentivizing EVs.

mm1970

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5321 on: June 19, 2019, 03:52:57 PM »
I had a similar experience (though confused rather than accusatory) when I mentioned to my mom that maybe I'll be able to get a used electric car by the time my current (gas) car dies. She didn't think it would save any money, because apparently in the midwestern state where I grew up, you have to pay a big annual tax to make up for the fact that you aren't paying gas taxes.

I explained that isn't a thing in California; in fact there is a big tax break for buying new electric cars, plus access to the carpool lanes. Electric cars are incentivized.

"So then how do they pay to keep up the roads?"

I'm not actually sure what the long-term plan is, but de-incentivizing the switch away from fossil fuels does not sound like a great strategy!

I believe I've heard mention in my state of increasing vehicle registration fees for electric vehicles. I get that it is a disincentive to get an electric car if you no longer get that tax break, but the roads still have to be paid for by those who use them, so it makes sense to me to find some way to make electric car drivers pay their fair share for the roads they use.
What we really need to be doing is converting more roads to toll roads to make the clear connection between using something and paying for it.
I've noticed some toll roads in southern LA/  San Diego area.  Ended up on one by accident (stupid google maps).  I don't mind paying tolls (and it was a tiny bit faster), but the method of payment (all online, and hard to navigate by phone) was annoying. 

thedigitalone

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5322 on: June 19, 2019, 06:04:41 PM »
Quote
I believe I've heard mention in my state of increasing vehicle registration fees for electric vehicles. I get that it is a disincentive to get an electric car if you no longer get that tax break, but the roads still have to be paid for by those who use them, so it makes sense to me to find some way to make electric car drivers pay their fair share for the roads they use.

(Sigh) Washington State:
Washington State bill to increase annual EV fee to $350
Currently annual EV fee is $150 but new proposal is on the docket to raise it to $350.

https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5971&Year=2019

From Geekwire article:
"The current annual EV registration fee of $150 is roughly comparable to the amount of state gas tax (currently $0.494 per gallon) a driver of a 34.6 mpg gas-powered car would pay after driving about 10,500 miles per year. That’s the average fuel efficiency of light-duty passenger cars from the 10-year period between 2007 and 2016, according to data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Under the new tax structure proposed by SB-5971 of $0.554 per gallon of gas and $350 per year for EVs, a 34.6 mpg gas-powered car would have to be driven 21,850 miles (2.4 times the WA state average) before the owner would pay Washington State as much in gas taxes as EV owners would be charged each year to register their vehicles"

Syonyk

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5323 on: June 19, 2019, 06:42:38 PM »
It this Illinois? I heard about the proposal to make the registration fee an eye-popping $1000 for an EV there.

Yeah, but you can probably get an official exemption if you make a campaign contribution.  You know, a little... wink wink, eh?  Some Bennios in the pocketios?

dcheesi

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5324 on: June 20, 2019, 08:48:17 AM »
I had a similar experience (though confused rather than accusatory) when I mentioned to my mom that maybe I'll be able to get a used electric car by the time my current (gas) car dies. She didn't think it would save any money, because apparently in the midwestern state where I grew up, you have to pay a big annual tax to make up for the fact that you aren't paying gas taxes.

I explained that isn't a thing in California; in fact there is a big tax break for buying new electric cars, plus access to the carpool lanes. Electric cars are incentivized.

"So then how do they pay to keep up the roads?"

I'm not actually sure what the long-term plan is, but de-incentivizing the switch away from fossil fuels does not sound like a great strategy!

I believe I've heard mention in my state of increasing vehicle registration fees for electric vehicles. I get that it is a disincentive to get an electric car if you no longer get that tax break, but the roads still have to be paid for by those who use them, so it makes sense to me to find some way to make electric car drivers pay their fair share for the roads they use.
What we really need to be doing is converting more roads to toll roads to make the clear connection between using something and paying for it.
I've noticed some toll roads in southern LA/  San Diego area.  Ended up on one by accident (stupid google maps).  I don't mind paying tolls (and it was a tiny bit faster), but the method of payment (all online, and hard to navigate by phone) was annoying.
Or even more "fun", lots of toll roads and "express lanes" around here are EZ-Pass only; if you wind up on that road without a transponder, you're automatically looking at big fine...

AlanStache

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5325 on: June 20, 2019, 08:59:46 AM »

EZ-Pass is nearly required in South East Virginia with the bridges and tunnels.  You can not have one but then you are charged like 3 times more per toll.  It would be impracticable to ovoid the toll tunnels.  For a long time we had very few tolls so everyone set up there life to drive from one land area across some water to a different land area but the infrastructure did not keep up and to pay for new crossings tolls were added a few years back.  And there will likely be more tolls in future.  when I bought my current house I picked an area that would not require crossing a tunnel/bottleneck and it is great having a short commute.

Catbert

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5326 on: June 20, 2019, 03:20:21 PM »
California is getting ready (2020 I think) to charge electric vehicles an extra $100 a year.  This show everybody

http://www.ncsl.org/research/energy/new-fees-on-hybrid-and-electric-vehicles.aspx

A Fella from Stella

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My House? Nearly Paid for! But They Don't Get It
« Reply #5327 on: June 21, 2019, 01:03:33 PM »
I bought a house that was not a great one, but has been slowly getting improved.

My siblings? One rents a very nice place with matching leased Mercedes in front, and the other paid the same amount as me for half as much space in a less desirable school district.

Everyone worries that I must not be doing well despite the fact that I've told them I have a 15 yr loan on the place. But they see that my van has 161k miles, not that my mortgage balance is $161k and I'm under 40.

six-car-habit

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5328 on: June 21, 2019, 10:35:29 PM »

EZ-Pass is nearly required in South East Virginia with the bridges and tunnels.  You can not have one but then you are charged like 3 times more per toll.  It would be impracticable to ovoid the toll tunnels.  For a long time we had very few tolls so everyone set up there life to drive from one land area across some water to a different land area but the infrastructure did not keep up and to pay for new crossings tolls were added a few years back.  And there will likely be more tolls in future.  when I bought my current house I picked an area that would not require crossing a tunnel/bottleneck and it is great having a short commute.

 Whatever happened to the note on every denomination of dollar bill i've ever seen -- " This note is legal tender for all debts public and private " -- i wonder why these toll roads are not required to have a cash lane....
  Likewise, my Health maintenance organization refuses to accept cash for co-pays -- hmmmn, my dollar bill says otherwise ?

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5329 on: June 22, 2019, 02:42:17 AM »
Whatever happened to the note on every denomination of dollar bill i've ever seen -- " This note is legal tender for all debts public and private " -- i wonder why these toll roads are not required to have a cash lane....
  Likewise, my Health maintenance organization refuses to accept cash for co-pays -- hmmmn, my dollar bill says otherwise ?
Keyword is debt.

Presumably once the toll road operators send you a bill by mail you could pay it with cash.

TomTX

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5330 on: June 22, 2019, 07:42:00 AM »
I had a similar experience (though confused rather than accusatory) when I mentioned to my mom that maybe I'll be able to get a used electric car by the time my current (gas) car dies. She didn't think it would save any money, because apparently in the midwestern state where I grew up, you have to pay a big annual tax to make up for the fact that you aren't paying gas taxes.

I explained that isn't a thing in California; in fact there is a big tax break for buying new electric cars, plus access to the carpool lanes. Electric cars are incentivized.

"So then how do they pay to keep up the roads?"

I'm not actually sure what the long-term plan is, but de-incentivizing the switch away from fossil fuels does not sound like a great strategy!

I believe I've heard mention in my state of increasing vehicle registration fees for electric vehicles. I get that it is a disincentive to get an electric car if you no longer get that tax break, but the roads still have to be paid for by those who use them, so it makes sense to me to find some way to make electric car drivers pay their fair share for the roads they use.

It's ridiculous, because an 18-wheeler does literally thousands of times the damage to the road. Road damage is affected by weight to the 4th power.

Cars are basically irrelevant. Bikes are far below that.

Based on upkeep costs, diesel tax should be >$10/gallon, and the annual registration fee should be more like $5k.

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5331 on: June 22, 2019, 08:44:52 AM »
It's ridiculous, because an 18-wheeler does literally thousands of times the damage to the road. Road damage is affected by weight to the 4th power.

Cars are basically irrelevant. Bikes are far below that.

Based on upkeep costs, diesel tax should be >$10/gallon, and the annual registration fee should be more like $5k.
Those "18-wheeler"s are carrying all the things you buy in shops, the materials to build your house... and even materials to build roads with. All you'd be doing is shifting your own costs around.

Tasse

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5332 on: June 22, 2019, 09:38:11 AM »
Well, or shifting the costs to the people who actually buy those things. Obviously we all rely on shipping, but not all to the same extent.

Not even arguing for it, but I think the effects would be more complex than "moving your own costs around."

ysette9

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5333 on: June 22, 2019, 10:33:11 AM »
It's ridiculous, because an 18-wheeler does literally thousands of times the damage to the road. Road damage is affected by weight to the 4th power.

Cars are basically irrelevant. Bikes are far below that.

Based on upkeep costs, diesel tax should be >$10/gallon, and the annual registration fee should be more like $5k.
Those "18-wheeler"s are carrying all the things you buy in shops, the materials to build your house... and even materials to build roads with. All you'd be doing is shifting your own costs around.
More likely is that economics would kick in and some shipping would be shifted to less expensive method. Maybe we would use more rail and accept thugs arriving in five days instead of two. In any case a new equilibrium would be found.

TomTX

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5334 on: June 22, 2019, 12:30:57 PM »
It's ridiculous, because an 18-wheeler does literally thousands of times the damage to the road. Road damage is affected by weight to the 4th power.

Cars are basically irrelevant. Bikes are far below that.

Based on upkeep costs, diesel tax should be >$10/gallon, and the annual registration fee should be more like $5k.
Those "18-wheeler"s are carrying all the things you buy in shops, the materials to build your house... and even materials to build roads with. All you'd be doing is shifting your own costs around.

And it pushes the trucking industry toward buying cleaner, more efficient new trucks - take the inefficient old smokers to the scrapyard.

Plus, I don't buy that much stuff.

Win-win.

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5335 on: June 22, 2019, 12:56:25 PM »
It's ridiculous, because an 18-wheeler does literally thousands of times the damage to the road. Road damage is affected by weight to the 4th power.

Cars are basically irrelevant. Bikes are far below that.

Based on upkeep costs, diesel tax should be >$10/gallon, and the annual registration fee should be more like $5k.
Those "18-wheeler"s are carrying all the things you buy in shops, the materials to build your house... and even materials to build roads with. All you'd be doing is shifting your own costs around.
Yes, it'd be shifting costs around, but it would shift those costs to those products/activities that create those costs in the first place.

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5336 on: June 22, 2019, 10:28:51 PM »
It's ridiculous, because an 18-wheeler does literally thousands of times the damage to the road. Road damage is affected by weight to the 4th power.

Cars are basically irrelevant. Bikes are far below that.

Based on upkeep costs, diesel tax should be >$10/gallon, and the annual registration fee should be more like $5k.
Those "18-wheeler"s are carrying all the things you buy in shops, the materials to build your house... and even materials to build roads with. All you'd be doing is shifting your own costs around.
Yes, it'd be shifting costs around, but it would shift those costs to those products/activities that create those costs in the first place.
It would actually be worse. The additional admin of billing out-of-state transports traversing your state would increase total cost significantly.

And people living in a specific location are still those using the roads most frequently. And deriving the most gain from the their existence. Would be different if road track were 90% truck.

TomTX

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5337 on: June 23, 2019, 05:01:17 AM »
It's ridiculous, because an 18-wheeler does literally thousands of times the damage to the road. Road damage is affected by weight to the 4th power.

Cars are basically irrelevant. Bikes are far below that.

Based on upkeep costs, diesel tax should be >$10/gallon, and the annual registration fee should be more like $5k.
Those "18-wheeler"s are carrying all the things you buy in shops, the materials to build your house... and even materials to build roads with. All you'd be doing is shifting your own costs around.
Yes, it'd be shifting costs around, but it would shift those costs to those products/activities that create those costs in the first place.
It would actually be worse. The additional admin of billing out-of-state transports traversing your state would increase total cost significantly.

And people living in a specific location are still those using the roads most frequently. And deriving the most gain from the their existence. Would be different if road track were 90% truck.

Road damage from vehicles is >90% caused by trucks.

flipboard

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5338 on: June 23, 2019, 10:08:47 AM »
It's ridiculous, because an 18-wheeler does literally thousands of times the damage to the road. Road damage is affected by weight to the 4th power.

Cars are basically irrelevant. Bikes are far below that.

Based on upkeep costs, diesel tax should be >$10/gallon, and the annual registration fee should be more like $5k.
Those "18-wheeler"s are carrying all the things you buy in shops, the materials to build your house... and even materials to build roads with. All you'd be doing is shifting your own costs around.
Yes, it'd be shifting costs around, but it would shift those costs to those products/activities that create those costs in the first place.
It would actually be worse. The additional admin of billing out-of-state transports traversing your state would increase total cost significantly.

And people living in a specific location are still those using the roads most frequently. And deriving the most gain from the their existence. Would be different if road track were 90% truck.

Road damage from vehicles is >90% caused by trucks.
Not that I don't believe you - but do you have any citations, since I'm having trouble finding data backing up your 90% claim.

According to this page, lorries cause 400x the damage that a car does. So if your numbers are right, the car:truck ratio is 1:44. Even when I visit america, the ratio of trucsk to cars is nowhere near 1:44 (more like 1:5000).
https://streets.mn/2016/07/07/chart-of-the-day-vehicle-weight-vs-road-damage-levels/

Where I live, only the main road is regularly used by trucks. 2 lorries use it per day (not even 9t), to supply the local supermarket (after the main road, they get onto the motorway - which is funded by federal money as opposed to local money). Local roads other than the main road aren't used by trucks, except for construction... and deliveries directly to people living there. Effectively, truck traffic on locally funded roads is mostly non-existent.

Now I lied when I said 2 trucks - 2 trucks from far away use the road. Waste disposal lorries use each road once a week, but they're completely local, funded by local taxes - so you'd shift one local tax into a different local tax. Oh, and the local buses. Public transport is _definitely_ something that should be subsidised by road taxes.

Uturn

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5339 on: June 24, 2019, 06:14:04 AM »
.. and accept thugs arriving in five days instead of two.

Nope.  When I call for a thug, I need them rather quickly. 

former player

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5340 on: June 24, 2019, 08:16:25 AM »
.. and accept thugs arriving in five days instead of two.

Nope.  When I call for a thug, I need them rather quickly.

From now on I shall think of you as living the life I read about in thrillers.

Slow&Steady

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5341 on: June 24, 2019, 08:49:09 AM »
My SO was telling me the other day that while talking to a sibling it was discussed that SO would probably be retiring around 45.  This is the recap I got from SO.

SO: Yeah so if all of our planning goes correctly, I should be retiring around 45.
Sib: That would be great, how are you going to do that?
SO: While Slow will probably still be working for insurance and such but we are prioritizing retirement savings over other material things.
Sib: What do you mean?
SO:  Slow puts a lot in to 401k options, we also use IRAs and we are looking at opening a individual 401k for my business so we can shovel more money in to tax sheltered accounts.
Sib: Oh how much do you put in to 401k?  We don't trust the stock market so we don't put money in there.  Plus we cashed out the 401K that Sib-in-law had previously so that we could move.
SO: Oh, we put a decent % into those retirement accounts and don't have trust issues with the stock market. Are the kids enjoying summer? ...

ambimammular

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5342 on: June 24, 2019, 01:35:35 PM »
My SO was telling me the other day that while talking to a sibling it was discussed that SO would probably be retiring around 45.  This is the recap I got from SO.

SO: Yeah so if all of our planning goes correctly, I should be retiring around 45.
Sib: That would be great, how are you going to do that?
SO: While Slow will probably still be working for insurance and such but we are prioritizing retirement savings over other material things.
Sib: What do you mean?
SO:  Slow puts a lot in to 401k options, we also use IRAs and we are looking at opening a individual 401k for my business so we can shovel more money in to tax sheltered accounts.
Sib: Oh how much do you put in to 401k?  We don't trust the stock market so we don't put money in there.  Plus we cashed out the 401K that Sib-in-law had previously so that we could move.
SO: Oh, we put a decent % into those retirement accounts and don't have trust issues with the stock market. Are the kids enjoying summer? ...

'It's going to be a long hard climb without the stock market escalator.

A Fella from Stella

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5343 on: June 25, 2019, 08:45:37 AM »
For 5 years I've had a house that needs many updates. We are slowly working on it. For example, last week my wife and daughters finished the deck with me. Later this year we'll take out a 0% Lowe's loan to get some other work done.

FAMILY: They think we must be poor; that we are struggling. It's the opposite. For example, after an auto accident last year I paid $9k cash to replace my car while negotiating with the insurance co to get their lowball offers up. After 3 weeks they came up to an acceptable amount, but you only get the rental car for 10 days, so they know most people are in a bind. I was not.

I'd like a nice house, but not at the expense of everything else.

2Cent

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5344 on: June 25, 2019, 08:54:40 AM »
For 5 years I've had a house that needs many updates. We are slowly working on it. For example, last week my wife and daughters finished the deck with me. Later this year we'll take out a 0% Lowe's loan to get some other work done.

FAMILY: They think we must be poor; that we are struggling. It's the opposite. For example, after an auto accident last year I paid $9k cash to replace my car while negotiating with the insurance co to get their lowball offers up. After 3 weeks they came up to an acceptable amount, but you only get the rental car for 10 days, so they know most people are in a bind. I was not.

I'd like a nice house, but not at the expense of everything else.
Maybe there is a bargain waiting for you:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-growing-problem-in-real-estate-too-many-too-big-houses-11553181782?mod=rsswn

Philociraptor

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5345 on: June 25, 2019, 11:40:32 AM »
Maybe there is a bargain waiting for you:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-growing-problem-in-real-estate-too-many-too-big-houses-11553181782?mod=rsswn


Hell, the wife and I bought a 2,200 square foot "starter home" in 2012 (4/2 with formal dining, den, and sun room), but would like to find something around half that (2/2 with large kitchen and living room, no formal dining or den) with a large covered outdoor area and no yard. Turns out these homes don't exist, at least not in the area of DFW we are looking.

Kitsune

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5346 on: June 25, 2019, 11:46:35 AM »
Maybe there is a bargain waiting for you:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-growing-problem-in-real-estate-too-many-too-big-houses-11553181782?mod=rsswn


Hell, the wife and I bought a 2,200 square foot "starter home" in 2012 (4/2 with formal dining, den, and sun room), but would like to find something around half that (2/2 with large kitchen and living room, no formal dining or den) with a large covered outdoor area and no yard. Turns out these homes don't exist, at least not in the area of DFW we are looking.

Yeah, that's the size of home my husband and I bought as a 'this is where we want to raise 3-4 kids' kind of house (no formal dining space, no formal living room, but big open kitchen and table that easily fits 10 and can stretch to fit 20, because we do a LOT of cooking and entertaining). I can't imagine that amount of space with 1 kid or no kids - like, you want me to maintain HOW MUCH space???

Philociraptor

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5347 on: June 25, 2019, 12:33:59 PM »
Maybe there is a bargain waiting for you:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-growing-problem-in-real-estate-too-many-too-big-houses-11553181782?mod=rsswn


Hell, the wife and I bought a 2,200 square foot "starter home" in 2012 (4/2 with formal dining, den, and sun room), but would like to find something around half that (2/2 with large kitchen and living room, no formal dining or den) with a large covered outdoor area and no yard. Turns out these homes don't exist, at least not in the area of DFW we are looking.

Yeah, that's the size of home my husband and I bought as a 'this is where we want to raise 3-4 kids' kind of house (no formal dining space, no formal living room, but big open kitchen and table that easily fits 10 and can stretch to fit 20, because we do a LOT of cooking and entertaining). I can't imagine that amount of space with 1 kid or no kids - like, you want me to maintain HOW MUCH space???

When we first moved in we had roommates, but over time they all moved out and we never backfilled. Now it's just the wife and I with no plans for kids. The 3 empty bedrooms stay shut for weeks at a time, I closed off the AC vents to them. Hopefully that'll keep dust from accumulating. The smaller homes that are closer to fitting what we want run double what we paid for this one >_>

Kitsune

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5348 on: June 25, 2019, 12:59:35 PM »
Maybe there is a bargain waiting for you:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-growing-problem-in-real-estate-too-many-too-big-houses-11553181782?mod=rsswn


Hell, the wife and I bought a 2,200 square foot "starter home" in 2012 (4/2 with formal dining, den, and sun room), but would like to find something around half that (2/2 with large kitchen and living room, no formal dining or den) with a large covered outdoor area and no yard. Turns out these homes don't exist, at least not in the area of DFW we are looking.

Yeah, that's the size of home my husband and I bought as a 'this is where we want to raise 3-4 kids' kind of house (no formal dining space, no formal living room, but big open kitchen and table that easily fits 10 and can stretch to fit 20, because we do a LOT of cooking and entertaining). I can't imagine that amount of space with 1 kid or no kids - like, you want me to maintain HOW MUCH space???

When we first moved in we had roommates, but over time they all moved out and we never backfilled. Now it's just the wife and I with no plans for kids. The 3 empty bedrooms stay shut for weeks at a time, I closed off the AC vents to them. Hopefully that'll keep dust from accumulating. The smaller homes that are closer to fitting what we want run double what we paid for this one >_>

... That's just absolutely ridiculous. If it was just me and my husband, I'd definitely be looking for a way smaller space, just for maintenance. Ridiculous.

With kids, you DO ... well, I don't wanna say 'need', but you definitely appreciate extra space. Not 4K square feet of space (wtf), but even with 2300sqft we're gonna have shared bedrooms going on, so.

Nicholas Carter

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Re: Relatives who just don't get it
« Reply #5349 on: June 25, 2019, 05:39:08 PM »
According to this page, lorries cause 400x the damage that a car does. So if your numbers are right, the car:truck ratio is 1:44. Even when I visit america, the ratio of trucsk to cars is nowhere near 1:44 (more like 1:5000).
https://streets.mn/2016/07/07/chart-of-the-day-vehicle-weight-vs-road-damage-levels/
In the part of the states that I live in, there are three observations. The first is that the ratio need not be in number of vehicles, but in miles per vehicle. An American might only drive for a couple hours a day, factoring in errands and averaging in a three four hour trip once a month. While a lorrie drives for nine to twelve hours without stopping: each truck is worth six to twenty four regular cars in time on the road.
Secondly, trucks drive in many places people do not: the company I work for receives a flatbed worth of materials from New Jersey every two weeks. A person who had to travel one third the width of the country every other week would probably fly. If you drive in between the big cities of the Midwest, perhaps one car in fifty is a lorrie of some kind.
Thirdly, to avoid congestion, trucks drive at many times people do not. If you are up and driving between four and six in the morning, perhaps one car in thirty is a lorrie.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!