3 ms·
It is not a capital expense in the same way that a vehicle is. It is physically impossible to offer taxi service without a vehicle. It is merely illegal to offe
by greggyb 11y ago
It is not a capital expense in the same way that a vehicle is. It is physically impossible to offer taxi service without a vehicle. It is merely illegal to offer certain types of taxi services in some areas without a medallion. I am asking why a medallion is reasonable in the first place, a question we wouldn't have to address regarding a vehicle.
As to congestion, that is a post hoc justification of medallions that were intensely lobbied for by taxi companies as an anti-competitive measure.
- paulmd 11y agoWould you say that pollution allocations (eg SO2 or CO2 credits) are also not a capital asset? I mean sure, you can buy them and sell them or take out an option against their future value. But you could just break the law and pollute without one perfectly fine. I fundamentally disagree with that assertion. Legal compliance is just as valid a consideration as physical necessity. Just because you can dump toxic waste in the river doesn't mean that should be the baseline behavior. Congestion is basically a form of pollution - pollution of our traffic system. The existence of taxi medallions is no more or less valid than the existence of liquor licenses. Societies regulate things that they deem to have negative externalities, film at 11. It doesn't matter that they have roots that you dislike (eg prohibitionism), what matters is the role we assign them in the present time.