You should at least admit that this is an American problem. No-one in my family has a driver's license and it's not an issue whatsoever. There's very little reason to own a car in a society with a functioning public transport system.
It’s funny, a couple decades ago I studied in Vienna. I was amazed at how great their public transit was! I didn’t need a car to get around. But I made a local friend there, and at first I was surprised she had a car there. Then, yeah it made sense if you still live somewhere other than city center. Buses to metro to something on the other side of the city could still take a long time. Add cargo, a kid? No, this isn’t an American thing. Go look at how many people own cars across Europe. Plenty of people do.
I don't agree with the premise or the conclusion. There's little reason to own a car in a dense, urban area with a functional public transport system. I wouldn't bother to maintain a car if I lived in the middle of Tokyo or Amsterdam, but when you get away from the urban core, most people still own and need cars in Japan and the Netherlands.
I don't think it is fair to say that it is an "American problem". Not owning a car could be realistic if you live in a really large city where moving with public transport can potentially be faster than moving with a car. But even then I wonder how a family with kids would carry groceries unless you live right next to a supermarket.
Often times in HN you get the impression like americans are the only ones using cars to get around, but at least where I live (Finland) families generally own at least one car even if good public transportation is available. In 2021, 89% of adult men and 76% of women had a drivers license and I would say that commuting to work with a car is more common than with public transport. Despite having decent public transportation, it is just seen more convenient to use the car.
If you live in a city, you typically go to a supermarket 3-5 times a week. And if your family is small enough to fit in a normal car, you can easily carry the groceries. Those trips don't take too much time either, because urban supermarkets are smaller than suburban hypermarkets and designed for quick visits.
Going to a grocery store a few times a week is not a lot of effort. Urban grocery stores are nearby, they are optimized for quick visits, and you can often buy groceries when returning from somewhere else.
You should have emergency food at home, but many kinds of fresh foods are best eaten within a day or two. If you only go to a grocery store once a week, the quality of the food you eat is worse.
