If you look up "active adult" in the dictionary, you'll probably see a picture of my Aunt Amy. She's 60...ish, and in stellar shape. She's got shoulder-length blond hair, and thanks to artfully administered injectables, disarmingly full lips and no wrinkles whatsoever. Her wardrobe is pure Lilly Pulitzer and she's always, always tan.
Amy lives... appropriately enough... in Florida, and better yet, she's now a resident of iconic active adult community, "The Villages". If you watch the Golf Channel, even occasionally, you know the Villages, and you know it's America's Friendliest Hometown. Because, the jingle says so. And the jingle has been seared into your memory till the end of time.
About a year ago Amy married Al - husband number three - and moved into his house at The Villages. Al is exactly the type of man you'd expect to see on Amy's sleek golden brown arm. "Active Adult, Male Version"; if there was a "Field Guide to Human Subspecies", that'd be Al's Chapter. I'm guessing he's about Amy's age though he looks quite a bit older due his silver hair... and refusal to have his face injected every six months. He looks prosperous though, as prosperous as Amy looks pretty, and that's why they're such a perfectly matched pair. Put them side by side in matching bathtubs and you've got a Cialis ad. 
And like the Cialis couples, they get along so well. Most of the time. Lately there's been a bit of trouble in paradise. You see when Al's previous marriage broke up, his German wife grabbed Max, their Labradoodle, and went right back to Berlin, leaving him with the house and two golf carts... and that was fine, because not only do they both play golf...daily, but in The Villages even if you don't play golf you'll want a golf cart. It's the way people get around in the self-contained Disneyland for adults. And these active adults really do get around. Shopping, Theater, Dining ...and golf galore. The Villages is very animated.The problem was that Amy, after seeing the amazing tricked out carts many of the residents drove, found Al's carts a little too... Vanilla? She soon found an adorable cart to covet. A cart designed by her favorite designer.
Yep, Amy found a Lilly golf cart. And she had to have it. She'd found a bright orange cart on-line for Al too. That's when she discovered that the man who had courted her with long weekends in Paris and pricey baubles from Tiffany had a sensible side. He balked at the glitzy golf carts, citing the two perfectly fine carts in their garage... and alluding to recent stock market losses. Amy was not at all pleased, and the golf cart discord was putting a damper on her relationship with Al. This morning, before I left for NY, I got a call from Amy. She sounded happier than she had in a while, and I soon found out why: It seems there's a federal tax credit, a kind of "cash for clunkers" type thing, but with golf carts. Because golf carts...apparently...qualify as "green" vehicles: environmentally friendly and thus eligible for a federal tax credit of up to $5,500. So, Al is finally on board for the new carts.
The happy couple plans to do some golf cart shopping this weekend.
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ReplyDeleteActually, Patricia, that very subject
came up in a meeting for my charity event
last week. We are raffling off a golf
cart. One of the committee members told us about that
extra added benefit. My daughter calls The Villages
'A College Town for Old People'!
Why do I have the feeling next spring and summer, Patricia will be tooling around Connecticut in GolfGirl-Mobile? All tricked out as only she can do...
ReplyDeleteGOD I hate this government.
ReplyDeletebe as perky as you want about your apparently very cool Aunt Amy - but she just used some of your and my tax dollars to by a ridiculous pink, designer GOLF CART - after she had been courted with trips around the world.
Buy your own damned golf cart - we already have a madman in the oval orafice spending us into oblivion.
OK Court, you're entitled to your opinions.
ReplyDeleteI think this bill has some loopholes that need to be addressed and most likely will be. As it is written, in order to qualify for the subsidy, the vehicle in question must be used day-to-day transportation needs. It can not be a purely recreational vehicle. I'm not sure how this will be verified but much of the negative reaction comes from the perception that taxpayers are in effect "buying golf carts for wealthy people who will use them only for golf".
In the case of Patricia's aunt ( and this applies to much of the population of The Villages) the vehicle will be used for virtually all of her transportation needs, so would be perfectly applicable even if the loopholes are closed.
The Villages, much maligned for being exclusively "Old People", is actually a model for the type of communities urban planners should be studying and emulating now. It's a successful example of sustainability and "walkable urbanism". Because the community - which I believe spreads over three zip codes - has everything it's residents need for their day-to-day lives and is constructed in such a way that transport by golf cart is the most convenient way to go.
These senior citizens are showing younger, hipper Americans how to better preserve the environment, how to cut dependency of foreign oil and probably how to eliminate a solid percentage of traffic fatalities.
Once in love with Amy ... then I read the second half of the story. Now not so much in love with Amy.
ReplyDeleteJennifer:
ReplyDeleteI think you overlooked the part of the story where Al already had a perfectly functional golf cart for Aunt Amy. The subsidy is underwriting Aunt Amy's conspicuous consumption.
And pointing at The Villages as some sort of example of New Urbanist thinking that we should learn a lesson from is a joke. People don't live and work there -- it's a place where well-off retirement-age folks go to relive their adolescence, filling their days with leisure pursuits and casual sex. (Not that there's anything wrong with that... ;-))
Matt, I think you overlooked the fact that our economy and, arguably entire world economy, is built upon "the American consumer". A true consumer who'll fule the engins of manufacturing and service. It seems Al and Amy, and numerous residents of The Villages, have disposable income. They should not be discouraged from spending it. Going into dept to spend? That's what's bad and I'm sure the old carts will either be sold or give to someone.
ReplyDeleteRegarding The Villages, it is indeed a model, and the fact the the residents are retirees does not change that. Employers should be encouraged to look at ways to allow their staff to telecommute as I'm sure many Villages residents are doing. Others are working in other regions but still using their carts within the complex.
Looks like we agree on the leisure pursuits and casual sex = good part. ;o)
I thought this was a highly amusing story. Although, I can't say I'm game for using tax dollars to "upgrade" to the Lilly cart.
ReplyDeleteI just think gov't spending is so ridiculously random sometimes.
Having said that, it seems most folks are unlikely to turn down a tax credit—even if they don't agree with the policy themselves.
OK way to serious...I'm a bit concerned the Lilly cart looks a little like a Barbie cart. I'd prefer one with a little more edge.
"the subsidy is underwriting Aunt Amy's conspicuous consumption."
ReplyDeleteWhich is not at all unlike the tax breaks people used to get for vehicles like Hummers for their "businesses."
This sort of tax gamesmanship is hardly new and will hardly stop so long as there are deductions and tax sheltering. It didn't start with the current administration, nor the one before it, nor the one before that.
Our Republican friends may think it fashionable to believe the lie that all that is evil and wrong in this country started late last January, but the truth is that it is the two-party system that is in reality one and the very same thing that has led the US to the precipice of ruin.
None of the current big three golf cart makers (EZGO, Club Car, Yamaha) make a cart that qualifies for the tax brake. The NEVs that qualify can not be driven on a golf course. To meet the requirements you must have seat belts, lights, turn signals and most safty items that are on a car.
ReplyDeleteThe price for most NEVs that qualify for the tax break start a $12,500 and up. Learne more about golf carts http://www.golfcarthotrod.com/
Maybe this info I found on the gov. savings program pertaining to golf carts will shed some light on this discussion...
ReplyDelete