The Elephant in the Bedroom: Automobile Dependence & Denial : Impacts on the Economy and Environment [Hardcover]

Stanley I. Hart (Author), Alvin L. Spivak (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0932727654 | ISBN-13: 978-0932727657 | Publication Date: July 1, 1993

A library cover edition of the paperback.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The elephant in question is the American automobile and its true cost to the citizenry, economy, and environment. The authors, both engineers, provide a more reasoned, well-written, and holistic introduction to the subject than one would expect from a manifesto. Their thesis is that the automobile is much more expensive than we realize when taxes, parking, and environmental concerns are considered. The answer to the problem, expounded at length, is full-cost pricing of all automobiles, highways, and automobile by-products. Like most manifestos, this one has lots of passion, no footnotes, and few numbers, and it treats competing ideas with disdain. Most readers will need proof before agreeing that raising the cost of gasoline to $9 per gallon will result in "better familial discipline." Nevertheless, this is a compelling, informative book about a very real problem.
- Kenneth M. Locke, Radford, Va.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 173 pages
• Publisher: Hope Publishing House (July 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0932727654
• ISBN-13: 978-0932727657
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,162,093 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The hidden subsidies that make an automobile a "requirement", May 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Automobile Dependence and Denial: The Elephant in the Bedroom: Impacts on the Economy and Environment (Paperback)

This is an excellent book that shows how the "highway lobby" (real estate developers, highway construction companies, politicians, trucking companies, automobile manufacturers) has gotten the American taxpayer to subsidize the use of automobiles. Fuel taxes in 1993 (when the book was written) amounted to $0.28 per gallon, while the subsidies (borne by sales and property taxes) are estimated at an additional $3.50 per gallon! The authors go on to show that the subsidies lead inevitably toward insolvency of public transporation systems, which require *further* subsidies from the taxpayers. Many societal ills are shown to be directly or indirectly due to this one fact -- that the *true cost* of operating a vehicle is hidden from the user.

Their solution would make Adam Smith proud: lower the property and/or sales taxes dramatically and raise the fuel tax and cost of parking so that users pay for the services they receive. This would lead to increased ridership on public transportation (to the point where these could once again become private companies instead of publicly supported agencies -- heck, there might be multiple companies *competing* for the privilege of transporting you!)

It's time for me to finish this review so I can start writing my congress-critters! Buy this book and join in the fun.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Elephant in the Bedroom: How much is it costing us?, June 13, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Automobile Dependence and Denial: The Elephant in the Bedroom: Impacts on the Economy and Environment (Paperback)

The Elephant in the Bedroom is a concise analysis of the automobile as a sugarcoated transportation system that has been sold to our country without any justice given to other transportation systems. One of the key questions brought up by the authors is "How much does the use of the automobile as the primary transportation system actually cost?" The authors bring up the seldom-discussed issue of "Who actually pays for the 'free parking' offered by commercial stores and restaurants?" Other issues discussed include gasoline taxation, political land use, automobile-driven economics, and various inefficiencies related to the current transportation system.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be Mandatory Reading, January 27, 2009

By 

Dan in Aloha (Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Elephant in the Bedroom: Automobile Dependence & Denial : Impacts on the Economy and Environment (Hardcover)

"You can't get there from here." America is faced with a transportation system that strangles our health and our economy. Today we are struggling to jump start our economy, rectify many social ills and improve mobility. The problem is that very few understand how we arrived where we are today. And as long as we fail to understand how we arrived, we are doomed to repeat our mistakes.

This book helps to shed light that is essential to understand how we arrived where we are today. Until we better understand how automobile dependence drove us to our current state, and how it affects so many aspects of our lives, we will not be able to correct course and achieve a healthy and prosperous economy. This book should be mandatory reading for everyone.