Electric Car Arguing 2022

[HighwayStar]

Moreover, the "well it used to be worse" response falls flat when you really think about it. Lots of things used to be worse, but that has never stopped us from considering the status quo to be unacceptable as well.

Now you sound like a Vision Zero proponent.  That's the same argument they use.

The difference is that there is some positive value created by transportation, whereas there is no positive value created by crime.

Paraguay says hello.

Paraguay is a third world country that is about as comparable to the US as a hot wheels car is to an actual car.

You've moved the goalposts. 

Paraguay's GDP was infamously held up by smuggling for decades and therefore still had "positive value" created by crime.

The lack of positive value is a matter of perspective.  From those profiting off the crime, there's quite a bit.

Therefore, your assertion is wrong.

No, I am not. GDP is not a reliable measure of a third world country dependent on criminal activity relative to something like the US. You cannot draw conclusions of that. Crime is always a net loss, because even if you generate some positive value on one end, that is lost elsewhere.

[Rothman]

Moreover, the "well it used to be worse" response falls flat when you really think about it. Lots of things used to be worse, but that has never stopped us from considering the status quo to be unacceptable as well.

Now you sound like a Vision Zero proponent.  That's the same argument they use.

The difference is that there is some positive value created by transportation, whereas there is no positive value created by crime.

Paraguay says hello.

Paraguay is a third world country that is about as comparable to the US as a hot wheels car is to an actual car.

You've moved the goalposts. 

Paraguay's GDP was infamously held up by smuggling for decades and therefore still had "positive value" created by crime.

The lack of positive value is a matter of perspective.  From those profiting off the crime, there's quite a bit.

Therefore, your assertion is wrong.

No, I am not. GDP is not a reliable measure of a third world country dependent on criminal activity relative to something like the US. You cannot draw conclusions of that. Crime is always a net loss, because even if you generate some positive value on one end, that is lost elsewhere.

That's not the definition of a net loss.  You can have an equal gain and equal loss and be net zero.

But hey, trolls gotta troll...