Does fuel-efficient parking discriminate against low-income families?

[Spectral]

The American dream, yo.

And yeah, the military is another good option. But I still can't believe any place in the US can be that impoverished. Hell, the gas station down the block where I am hires at $11/hour. The movie theater down a few blocks the other way hires 16 year olds at $10.

I grew up in a town that poor, to be honest. I just checked my hometown (a place with 700 people) and the per capita income there is $15,993. That's pretty damned poor. When I was a kid, I worked on farms for minimum wage (which was $5.35 then, if I recall). I remember people working crap jobs for crap money. I looked up the town the OP said he's from, and it's legitimately poor.

I guess one perspective is to say, "I understand and sympathize". Instead, my perspective is, "I came from that too, and I'm doing just fine. Be smart, work hard, and you can too!".

As lame as it sounds... American dream, and all that.

[belfpala]

I guess one perspective is to say, "I understand and sympathize". Instead, my perspective is, "I came from that too, and I'm doing just fine. Be smart, work hard, and you can too!".

Good points. My first job was minimum wage, and I made $4.25/hour. Not sure if that was State or Federal minimum... I was 16.

Sometimes it's hard to remember where we came from

[Deleted]

I recently went to visit my sister in the hospital and was taken aback by the fact that anyone who owns a "fuel efficient" vehicle has reserved premium parking. As a person who struggles to keep his $4,000 car in good tires, I found this fairly offensive. It's not that I don't care about the environment, but I cannot afford to buy a car that costs more than the house I live in. Until these Hybrid cars are an affordable "choice" to all drivers, I don't feel that fuel-efficient parking is fair. I personally don't "choose" not to drive a fuel-efficient car. The price tag is simply not an option.

I know it's not something you want to hear but driving a car is a luxary not a right.

[Spectral]

Sometimes it's hard to remember where we came from

At the risk of sounding like a tremendously elitist dick, sometimes when I go home for family functions, I wind up not really sure what to say to people that are in their 40s (or later) and don't really have anything I'd call a "career". I just don't really know what to say. I feel like talking about my own career (I'm a research scientist) makes me come off like a bigger dick than making an excuse to walk away or just change the subject. It's weird for me, because everyone in the DC area talks about their career first, and everything else second. This is why I try to stick to football and hockey talk...

Luckily, my close friends are on good tracks in life and have got it going the right way. I get that escaping poor rural towns (or poor inner cities, but I don't have that experience) can be hard, but people make it look harder than it is sometimes...

[Myzou]

It's only discriminatory if they do not have disabled parking spots, and have the hybrid spots in place of them.

[Laize]

Once again, this is the last time I am going to reply to the same thing. It is the principle. That is like saying poor people who can't afford an expensive car have to use the stairs, and the porterpotties, while those who can afford a nice car can use the elevator, and indoor plumbing. Anytime you separate someone based off of their income it feels extremely classist.

I agree. Where are my food stamps and general assistance?

---------- Post added 2012-07-16 at 11:47 AM ----------

At the risk of sounding like a tremendously elitist dick, sometimes when I go home for family functions, I wind up not really sure what to say to people that are in their 40s (or later) and don't really have anything I'd call a "career". I just don't really know what to say. I feel like talking about my own career (I'm a research scientist) makes me come off like a bigger dick than making an excuse to walk away or just change the subject. It's weird for me, because everyone in the DC area talks about their career first, and everything else second. This is why I try to stick to football and hockey talk...

Luckily, my close friends are on good tracks in life and have got it going the right way. I get that escaping poor rural towns (or poor inner cities, but I don't have that experience) can be hard, but people make it look harder than it is sometimes...

Depends on your definition of career.

Someone working a gas station doesn't have a career.

Someone working as a journeyman in a trade does.

[Seirith]

Where do you live exactly? I live in Marion, VA, where the average single man earns around $15,000 a year while working full-time. I also have what is considered one of the more preferable factory jobs (Utility Trailer), second to General Dynamics, for the area. You city folk need to remember that $250 is a lot more money to someone from the South or who is living in a Rural area. By the time most of us pay our house payment, car insurance, and utilities, we barely have enough money left over to eat.

So, the average man in Marion, VA works for exactly minimum wage?

[wowisme]

From Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion,_Virginia

The median income for a household in the town was $25,609, and the median income for a family was $34,257. Males had a median income of $27,960 versus $22,027 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,372. About 13.2% of families and 18.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.2% of those under age 18 and 17.9% of those age 65 or over.

For pity sake, can anyone do anything nowadays without it being called discriminatory?!?!?!

[Gangplank]

kissing the asses of the rich isnt a new phenomenon.

they can have their priveleged parking spaces though, i'd rather have the 10k i saved by buying an older used car.

One of the benefits of buying a hybrid is that you save on gas purchases. I would guess you aren't saving much money from buying a used car after you consider the additional gasoline you'll be buying compared to a hybrid... not to mention the maintenance work costs of buying an "older" used car.

[Seirith]

One of the benefits of buying a hybrid is that you save on gas purchases. I would guess you aren't saving much money from buying a used car after you consider the additional gasoline you'll be buying compared to a hybrid... not to mention the maintenance work costs of buying an "older" used car.

I agree, maybe it is just my bad luck, but I have had 2 used "older" cars which were nothing but trouble and cost more money than a new car would have.

[MerinPally]

I'm sorry but only in America would you get a thread saying "I found a parking suggestion OFFENSIVE" are you kidding me? Why is everything offensive or discriminatory these days? Stop being such a wet person and get on with it.

How do you get offended over such a thing? You're letting a sign make you think you're a worse person, that's pathetic. Just do what we do over in England and ignore those signs. What they gona do to you anyway?

[Maharishi]

Closing this out, as it's just become a trollfest about income.