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How are these externalities not borne by drivers? People with cars in nyc presumably park them on their local street that is clogged up with other neighbors cars. They drive them on nearby roads like the various expressways that cut up their own boroughs. They are very much bearing these external costs and taking advantage of their affordances. Its not like bronx drivers are protesting the various expressways that cut up their bronx neighborhood, parking cars to block the ramps or cut off access, no, they use those expressways all the same as any other driver and do benefit from the convenience and job access they bring.



Any cost paid by the drivers is by definition not an externality.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externality


Even in the first few sentances of that article I don't understand the situation they build about who pays for what. They say auto exaust is an example of an externality since car users presumably aren't affected by its ills. Here I am thinking they certainly pay for it in terms of a tradeoff between worse local air quality and convenience. Maybe some people believe things must only be paid in cash and not through time or experience.




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