Might I suggest that you are irrationally obsessing about "car choices" and ignoring everything else.
There are many other issues I think are worth debate, and require change in our world. This is just the one that came up in this thread.
Hell, son, EVERY PURCHASE YOU MAKE, whether a truck or a box of condoms or a cheap plastic toy, has a "societal cost." To be even more specific, that cheap plastic toy is TRANSPORTED OVER PUBLIC ROADS ON A BIG TRUCK. You say "Driver's do not cover their own costs and are in fact heavily subsidized." But I double damned guarantee you that 18-wheeler is even more heavily subsidized.
So maybe you should stop bitching about truck drivers and bitch about anyone who ever buys anything?
Not to worry, my previously mentioned list of things I'd like to see changed in this world ALSO involves people who buy too much shit they don't need.
Look, not everyone "pays their fair share" on everything. It's never happened, and it never will.
That's a really bad reason not to strive for something worthwhile.
"There has never been world peace. Let's just give up that idea and let the world fall into anarchy" - Nobody, ever
"There has never been universal access to the internet. Let's just leave that as a 'city' thing and ignore the rest" - Nobody, ever
And to be clear, I don't think everyone should pay their fair share for "everything". I differentiate between human rights and human privileges. Everyone should have access to clean drinking water whether or not they can afford it. Anyone who chooses to build a large daily commute into their lives should pay for that privilege.
It's absurd to obsess about the "unfair advantage" the truck driver might have, while blissfully ignoring all the THOUSANDS OF OTHER inequities.
See above... many worthy issues out there. This is the one that came up in this thread. I'm kinda new to the forum, perhaps we will have a chance to discuss some of the others in the future.
People with no kids subsidize those who have kids to an APPALLING DEGREE (don't get me started on this).
I should probably take your advice and not open this one up.... but I just don't have the willpower to let it slide.
Regarding property tax that is a common form of funding schools:
It's wrong to look at that system as a 'parents pay taxes for their kids to go to school' setup. The taxes you pay to the school system are based on your property value and ignore whether you have 0, 1, 4, or 12 kids in the school system. Instead the system should be looked at as 'I pay taxes back into the school system that educated me', this ends up looking a lot more 1-to-1 in terms of students-to-taxpayers.
If that doesn't do it for you, there's the idea of having an educated society surrounding you. If you enjoy interacting with at least semi-intelligent people, and your life is improved by some of the systems around you that were created/maintained by educated people (phones, internet, banking, roads, etc.) then you have the school system to thank - keep paying into it.
Regarding "baby bonus" style tax incentives and such:
I suspect that some of your wealth and achievement in life is in part thanks to a growing economy. To date, a growing economy depends on a growing population. Your tax dollars that help grow the population, help to grow the economy, which helps to line your pockets.
If this topic should be shifted to a separate thread, and anyone wants to do that, please go for it... sorry for letting it get the best of me and crowding things up here.
Those who achieve, earn, and save subsidize that don't to an almost criminal degree.
Those who buy and use less subsidize those who buy a lot of crap to a huge degree. Transportation/road costs are just a tiny part of this. I could rant all day on the economic and environmental impacts of buying piles of "stuff" (which most self-styled environmentalists conveniently ignore or are ignorant of). Excessive consumerism is a far bigger problem than "low mpg trucks."
Any "unfair" advantage you perceive (and again, I could argue, with numbers, that in many cases, you'd be wrong about the "truck" guy having an unfair advantage) earned by a guy driving a truck rather than a Prius is a ridiculously small drop in the bucket compared to any of these.
My suggestion, stop whining and obsessing about such a relatively trivial "unfairness." If you do feel the need to obsess about "unfairness" in society, focus on the larger ones I mentioned.
Again, again... other inequalities deserve attention too... some other time, some other forum thread...
Truck vs. Prius - I thought we already agreed that unnecessary driving of either is a bad thing.
And FINALLY, we get back to the whole point I am trying to make, and which you keep avoiding by steering us to other tangents. Way back in this thread somewhere you said (paraphrased, because I'm not going to go look it up) "I can drive whatever I want, however much I want, because I PAY FOR IT" This is wrong. If you want to debate on this one statement, please reply separately from any replies to all our tangents above so we can keep it straight. I don't care whether a prius driver or a small pickup truck driver or 'supped up monster truck driver is paying 'closer to their fair share' including or ignoring all the variables like age of vehicle, or humanitarian purposes the vehicle is used for, or distance driven...
EVERY driver is being subsidized for EVERY mile they drive. This should be changed.