Maybe I’m overthinking this, but my guess is the reasoning (such that it is) behind the insult is something like “this is a menial task that I could do, but can’t be bothered with, and that’s all women are really good for, so I’m going to tell her to do it.”

Sure you can. Assume a 25% tax rate (just for the math). If you give them the $50k car and $16,667 in cash, that’s a total gift of $66,667. Tax on that is 25% of 66,700, or $16,667. They pay the $16,667 in cash to the IRS, and own the car free and clear. 

If these grade-level crossings are really such a danger to drivers, then the only reasonable response is to block them off entirely, until the roads can be routed over or under the railroad tracks.  Some Jersey dividers should do it. 

If he was flying private (and it sounds like he was) there isn’t any TSA screening.  Just walk up to the plane and get on board. 

Nah, you’d be fine.  TSA found more than SIX THOUSAND guns at checkpoints last year. People just pay a modest fine and go on their merry way.  Oh, but they do lose Precheck for five years.  

What, no Varsity Blues???

The most logical evolution is for truck drivers to increasingly become like harbor pilots for large ships. A 1000 mile trip might be 25 miles of urban/suburban driving on each end, with 950 miles on Interstates in the middle.  The 950 miles of highway cruising is something autonomous tech already does very well, while…

RyanAir’s model is “really cheap tickets, and fees for everything.” Two RyanAir tickets plus the $27 fee is almost certainly still cheaper than two tickets on another carrier.

RyanAir is basically what Spirit aspires to be.  The only reason they haven’t implemented a “we won’t kick you in the crotch on boarding” fee is that only half of their customers would be strongly motivated to pay. 

None.  Those customers get the $5 tier for free (or the $10 ad-free tier for $5).  

People do stuff like put a leaf on their license plate to cover the number and make it unreadable, or a sticker to turn an 8 into a 6, or they deface the painted plate numbers. He removes the leaves/stickers, and occasionally uses a market to repaint the defaced numbers. 

I’m saying that declaring something a “waste of money for most people” is an opinion, based on your assessment of how much value you put on having a new car vs. an older or used one.* Some people really value having a new car, and for them, leasing can be an excellent solution. As an analogy, I think it’s a waste of…

That’s a value judgment, though. By that token, buying any luxury vehicle, or any trim above the most basic, is a waste of money.  

I don’t get why people are this surprised by his comment. Netflix is making shows so people sign up for, and stick with, their streaming service. If, in their assessment, a show isn’t making enough people either sign up, or decide to stick around (or both) to justify its budget, then they’re not going to buy more of…

“Cupholder: $9000"

Very well put.  When people say “leasing is bad,” they’re really saying “getting a new car every three years is bad.”

Leasing has historically made sense if you want to get a new (not just new to you, but new) car every three years or so. If you do, then leasing has historically been more attractive then buying, and then trading in, every three years.

Could also get a free image from Wikimedia Commons, like this one: commons.wikimedia. org/wiki/File:Title_Max,_US84,_Cairo.JPG

Wait, so when they advertise a “9.9% interest rate,” that’s for a MONTH, not an annual rate?  Wow. 

Agreed, this definitely isn’t the car for somebody with a $14k budget.  It’s a car for somebody who COULD buy a $25-30k car, but chooses to buy this one.