I'd only become aware recently that it's become less common for newer cars to have a spare tire. It was a bit of a shock to me.

The norm I'd been accustomed to was that a lot of cars would include a "donut" spare tire; a smaller, lighter, cheaper-to-manufacture thing. It would shave some cost off of the car, probably let the manufacturer increase their MPG rating a bit. However, it was only rated for something like 50 miles (80km) at a limited speed (say, 55mph or 90km/h) before it should be replaced. It was really designed to let a driver reach the closest tire shop and get a regular tire replaced.

What my dad always did, and recommended, and what I'd done, was replacing the thing with a full-size tire. That way, when you have a flat, it's not all that much of a problem. You just swap in the new tire, and next time it happens to be convenient, you get a new full-size tire. In my experience, spare tire wells included the space for a full-size tire; the manufacturer just didn't provide you with one.

However, in 2025, the situation doesn't look like that much anymore.

A number of spare tire wells don't appear to have enough space for a full-size spare tire. This seems, in my quick skim, to be something more common with hybrids or BEVs than ICEs, I assume because the battery is space-constrained and the tire is competition for space (and in the case of BEVs, range).

Some vehicles apparently ship with "run flat" tires. These can be driven for a limited distance, and appear to have about the same capabilities as a "donut" spare tire --- they can go about 50 miles at a reduced speed before they need to be replaced, and I assume are aimed at letting one reach a tire shop.

A number of vehicles don't have a spare tire or storage space for one or a jack at all; for example, the 2025 Corolla Hybrid. The manufacturer provides a pump and a goop kit, and the idea is that if a flat is only a slow leak, one can hopefully nurse the car along well enough with that to reach a tire shop.

As best I can tell, full-size spares are only common today with pickups or off-road oriented vehicles.

I assume that part of this is because cell phone coverage is more widespread now, and the idea is that one should just call for roadside assistance and have them bring and change it. I saw some discussion on Reddit talking about how a lot of younger people don't know how to change a spare tire.

I'm not entirely sanguine about this. While I'll agree that it can save a bit of space, I really prefer knowing that even if I get a flat, the worst that can happen to me, even if I'm outside of cell range, is that I go swap in a new tire. I've only rarely gotten flats, but it's something that I'd certainly rather have.

I guess that one could just put a tire in a trunk or hatchback/crossover/SUV's cargo space as long as one is willing to expend some cargo space, but especially with a hatchback/crossover/SUV, I'm not entirely enthralled about the idea of having something large and unsecured crashing around the cabin in the event of a crash; normally, a spare tire well prevents shifting around and has a system for securing the tire.

Thoughts? Is a spare tire something that you want to have today in your vehicle?

additional wheel carried in a motor vehicle as a replacement for one that goes flat, has a blowout, or other emergency

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I have an upcoming interview for a position developing iOS apps using SwiftUI, but I don't have experience programming for SwiftUI (my prior experience was in ReactNative) and don't own any Apple devices so I can't use Xcode to practice. I have tried setting up Oracle VirtualBox on my PC with Windows10 to run Mac OS v12.01 Monterey (64-bit) several times with different settings, but every time I start it up, it gets stuck on the following lines:

• ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin::start - waitForService(resourceMatching(AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement) timed out
• ApplePC::notifyPlatformASPM - registering with plugin with ASPM Support false
• AppleKeyStore: 7492:109: unexpected session: 100000 uid: -1 requested by: 109
• AppleKeyStore: 11150:109: operation failed (sel: 7 ret: e00002c2, -1, 100000)
• IOConsoleUsers: time(0) 0->0, lin 0, lik 1,
• IOConsoleUsers: gIOScreenLockState 3, hs 0, bs 0, now 0, sm 0x0

I admittedly don't have much experience with VirtualBox or MacOS, and any time I've tried to search for these specific messages I come up empty. Is there any way of getting this virtual mac running to the point where I can start using Xcode, or am I just out of luck?

Head of U.S. rates strategy at TD Securities, Gennadiy Goldberg, said that the crux of the $37 trillion problem is that no one knows at what level the debt becomes unsustainable. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent acknowledged that the U.S. government has a spending problem, not a revenue problem.

Goldberg agrees with Bessent’s argument but states that the U.S. also does not tax much compared to both the size of the country’s GDP and government outlays. He believes that either taxes have to go up, spending has to come down, or some combination of the two, but warned that it’s very complicated to figure out.

The White House said on June 7 that the GOP tax bill significantly improves the country’s fiscal trajectory by including $1.7 trillion in mandatory savings, while Trump’s tax cuts will spur economic growth. Democrats have pointed to analyses showing the bill’s tax cuts will benefit wealthier Americans far more than low- and middle-income workers while also adding to the national debt.

https://www.cryptopolitan.com/u-s-national-debt-crosses-37-trillion/

cross-posted from: lemmy.ml/post/31984374

Head of U.S. rates strategy at TD Securities, Gennadiy Goldberg, said that the crux of the $37 trillion problem is that no one knows at what level the debt becomes unsustainable. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent acknowledged that the U.S. government has a spending problem, not a revenue problem.

Goldberg agrees with Bessent’s argument but states that the U.S. also does not tax much compared to both the size of the country’s GDP and government outlays. He believes that either taxes have to go up, spending has to come down, or some combination of the two, but warned that it’s very complicated to figure out.

The White House said on June 7 that the GOP tax bill significantly improves the country’s fiscal trajectory by including $1.7 trillion in mandatory savings, while Trump’s tax cuts will spur economic growth. Democrats have pointed to analyses showing the bill’s tax cuts will benefit wealthier Americans far more than low- and middle-income workers while also adding to the national debt.

geneva_convenience

2025-06-20 11:30:03

U.S. national debt crosses $37 trillion for the first time in history amid rising fiscal pressures

Head of U.S. rates strategy at TD Securities, Gennadiy Goldberg, said that the crux of the $37 trillion problem is that no one knows at what level the debt becomes unsustainable. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent acknowledged that the U.S. government has a spending problem, not a revenue problem.

Goldberg agrees with Bessent’s argument but states that the U.S. also does not tax much compared to both the size of the country’s GDP and government outlays. He believes that either taxes have to go up, spending has to come down, or some combination of the two, but warned that it’s very complicated to figure out.

The White House said on June 7 that the GOP tax bill significantly improves the country’s fiscal trajectory by including $1.7 trillion in mandatory savings, while Trump’s tax cuts will spur economic growth. Democrats have pointed to analyses showing the bill’s tax cuts will benefit wealthier Americans far more than low- and middle-income workers while also adding to the national debt.

https://www.cryptopolitan.com/u-s-national-debt-crosses-37-trillion/