SwampYankee

They believe in a prison system designed to eat up as much of the general population as possible.

This reminded me. Trumpy dude I know at work, not a dumb guy, but poorly educated, WAS NOT AWARE that private prisons existed and when notified of that fact THOUGHT THAT THEY SHOULD BE ILLEGAL. The guy he voted for 3 times has so many ties to private prison companies it’s absurd, and this dude didn’t even know they existed.

Absolutely, mind-blowingly, galaxy-brained moment.

The person you’re responding to was only talking about the tax, I think. 12k miles @ 40 mpg is 300 gallons, or let’s say $1300/year at today’s prices. The gas tax is flat rate per gallon and works out to a little under $240 for that 300 gallons, for the federal gas tax, anyway. On top of that, in the US, depending on the state & local jurisdiction, you will have some combination of state gas tax, excise tax for registering in a specific municipality/county/other, a registration fee (not always every year), and a yearly inspection fee.

In Massachusetts where I live, for a typical personal passenger vehicle, the state gas tax is an additional 27.47 cents per gallon, there’s a biennial $60 registration, and a $35 yearly inspection. In my town, specifically, I pay about $75/year excise tax. My vehicle isn’t the most efficient, so I’m in the neighborhood of $2500 in fuel costs annualizing current prices - of that about $700 is state gas tax and $465 federal.

Chiropractic in the US refers exclusively to the practice of musculoskeletal manipulation and “adjustment”. Yanking on and twisting joints to get them back into the “right” position. It can work in specific circumstances, but can also further exacerbate some conditions. Someone who is only a chiropractor typically does not or is not allowed to administer invasive procedures such as the cortisone or lidocaine shot that I assume you got. That’s reserved for actual doctors here. Sounds like the person you saw would be more likely be a physiatrist or physical therapist in the US.

Basically chiropractic is a separate education/licensing process, and requirements vary by state. Most states, for instance, don’t require chiropractors to carry malpractice insurance. That means if they put you in a wheelchair, they declare bankruptcy and start a podcast or become a personal trainer or some shit, and you get to battle them in court while in crippling pain, and then max out your insurance deductible every year for the rest of your life. People who practice chiropractic may have additional qualifications and licenses allowing them to write prescriptions and do minor invasive procedures such as injections, but that’s not too common.