The previous post on mileage driven drew not just attention here, but prompted more inquiries into traffic stats. Another interesting wrinkle is the fatality decline.
What’s interesting, though, is that fatalities per mile often drop during a recession — and it’s dropped extra dramatically in this particular downturn. “This is the most profound departure from the general trend we’ve ever had,” said Darren Grant, an economist who studies traffic safety at Sam Houston State University (and who provided me with the chart above).I for one don't miss windshield time, and look forward to avoiding it strenuously in the future.
Grant notes that traffic-safety experts aren’t certain why people seem to drive more safely during a recession. One factor might be that people go out drinking less. But Grant offers up another theory: “It’s possible that it has something to do with how people value their time.” When the economy’s booming, the logic goes, people drive faster because they have places to be. That same principle might explain why people walk measurably faster in cities with high productivity, like, oh, Manhattan (although this is a complicated topic, see here for a fascinating discussion). [More]
2 comments:
Yes Warren is correct in that he should be paying his fair share of taxes. This country allowed him to make that money and he should write us out a check for it.
These farmers who are making obscene profits should also pay their fair share instead of getting all kinds of deductions for new buildings and new machinery to reduce the taxes they owe.
The government created the ethanol subsidies and mandates that are driving the prices higher and putting the windfall profits in their pockets while the rest of the country is struggeling to afford groceries. They need to pay back that money they didn't earn.
Their land values Triple, because of my subsidising tax dollars, while my home value goes in the toilet. They should be taxed for that appreciated value too. They didn't do anything to earn it so why shouldn't they be made to pay for some of the benefits they receive from the rest of us instead of spending it on themselves?
should have been two blogs up
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