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I'm an opportunist, and not an idealist. I will gladly take subsidized rides, while VCs continue to cover my fare. Uber is consistently cheaper for me than Lyft
by automatwon 10y ago
I'm an opportunist, and not an idealist. I will gladly take subsidized rides, while VCs continue to cover my fare. Uber is consistently cheaper for me than Lyft. If pricing was equal, I will choose Lyft without hesitation. If I knew with confidence that the probability of dieing in a Uber is greater than in a Lyft, I might still take the Uber if the price is attractive enough. But I can't possibly know, so my null hypothesis about the probability of dieing in either is zero, which, intuitively, not the case. Then again, I don't put money into my 401k concerned about the United States going bankrupt, either.
There is a difference between social / moral value judgments versus economic value judgment. For me, I commented on the social value judgments, but act on the economic one, unless of course the economic one is immoral. There is nothing immoral in me taking an Uber ride. I said "I'm not saying Uber or any private company MUST care", because to suggest otherwise is saying Uber HAS to act to some social value, rather than to their economic advantage.
Edit: I'll take a ride in Uber's self driving car, too. As long as it's "subsidized" at some attractive enough price. By that, I mean they pay me. What that threshold price is, I don't know, but I know it exists.
Edit 2: I love eating McDonald's. I will not boycott and refrain from eating chicken mcnuggets, even though I know their workers are being paid minimum wage. These are macroeconomic issues that I, cynically, lack the influence to affect. However, at a micro level, I give tips to employees at fastfood restaurant. I gave a $20 cash tip to this particular Uber driver, too. That's against Uber rules. That's also against what I just claimed about being economically maximizing. I don't consider the tip as part of my expense for some service / good, and rather just helping people out in general.