Car Price

As I just wrote, around 42% of the world lives on $2 a day (or less).

By contrast, Americans spend more of their disposable income on automobiles than on anything else except food and housing, according to the book, "What Your Car Really Costs: How to Keep a Financially Safe Driving Record." The book (140 pp., $6, ppd.) is published by the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) as part of the research institute's economic education series, and calculates that U.S. consumers, on average, will spend between $240,704 (for small sedans) and $349,968 (for large sedans) on automobiles during their expected driving lifetime. The cost calculations include vehicle purchases, fuel, insurance, maintenance, repairs, and license and registration fees. "The actual costs of owning an operating a car are far more than simply making the monthly payment."

Over $250,000, on average.

The American population is around 300,000,000. No wonder there's so many damn car commercials. Apparently, if the whole world consumed as much as we Americans do, we'd need 5 planets. It makes me feel better about not owning a car. What's 250k x 300 mil? 75 TRILLION DOLLARS.

Take a bus, people. Think how much good that money could do, instead of consuming resources and polluting the air.