I think of a 4 hour commute as (at least) a 33% pay cut. Unless you're getting paid to commute.
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I wonder if it is possible to construct a sensible tax that punishes commuters.
Not because I think they deserve it or anything, more because people tend to be highly adaptable and commuting (speaking in generalities) stinks.
Edit: I guess various congestion taxes are exactly what I suggest.
It would also likely be an extremely regressive tax so I'm not sure it would ever be sensible. People live in the suburbs because they can afford something that doesn't suck. The ultra poor and the ultra rich live in the city, the rest of us commute. And that's only slightly hyperbolic.
Are you serious? Your solution to fix commuting is to punish people who may depend on a job that's not in close proximity? Really... I have a job I depend heavily on and to make my life even more burdensome just seems inhumane. Please never get elected to office.
Edit: To be fair, I work 2 days from home, but the idea of taxing people who may have no other option disgusts me. You probably can't even begin to identify with them.
I was quietly thinking out loud. So yes, I was perfectly serious.
If some method of taxation was narrowly burdensome, I probably wouldn't think it was sensible.
But, for instance, maybe there is a way to (relatively objectively) identify businesses that employ lots of people but are less location sensitive. Some mild tax on such a business should not have an enormous impact on the employees (I immediately see an objection to this idea, the cost of maintaining a location already provides similar pressure).
Punitive measures for folks who are already being punished because they ostensibly ALLOWED themselves to be punished??
I would say you are over-analyzing my word choice.
As I noted, congestion taxes have a similar goal (reducing traffic), but less questionable motivations (they generally directly address externalities rather than behavior).
I was coming at it from the perspective of thinking about mechanisms that might be useful to try to shift aggregate group behavior towards something that is better for everybody. I certainly wasn't insisting that it was sensible.
Felt the same way. Is this a perfect example of the sociopath Hugh Macleod apex personality or what?!
If I was pursuing the thought in a way that had negative consequences for other people I could see room to question my motivations and empathy.
As it is, you are basically just shouting at me because you didn't like what crossed my mind.
I recommend this book as relevant to your interests: http://www.amazon.com/Walkable-City-Downtown-Save-America/dp...
Speck is kinda acerbic, but if you can get past this, his points are very good.
and here I am dealing with a 6hr commute for what is essentially pocket change (if the recent SF income poll is anything to go by)...
more reason to start looking for a new gig sooner rather than later I guess.