3 ms·
A little more in depth, the article specifically mentions the depreciation of taxi medallions. "Medallions, which grant the right to operate a taxi in New York
by hmschreck 9y ago
A little more in depth, the article specifically mentions the depreciation of taxi medallions.
"Medallions, which grant the right to operate a taxi in New York City, were now depreciating assets and drivers who had borrowed money to pay for them, once a sound investment strategy, were deeply in debt."
Just like any investment, you are not guaranteed a right to a return, or even to keep the money you put into an investment, and there is no reason why taxi medallions should be any different. The only reason these medallions were so valuable and such a "sound investment" for so long is because of government-induced artificial scarcity. There are good arguments behind that model, but if you depend on a model like that, eventually, you will have problems.
"He was now sometimes forced to work more than 100 hours a week to survive he said; when he had started out in the 1980s a 40-hour week was fairly typical."
In 5+ years, he never had the opportunity to change careers or do something about his situation? I know it's not easy, especially as you get older, but it's a lot easier than leaving your family behind. I apologize if I sound harsh, but he had years to come to terms with the changes in his profession and adapt, and he chose not to.
"For taxi drivers staring down an even bleaker future of driverless cars" - in other words, the changes brought about by Uber and Lyft and every other service of that sort is inevitable anyway. What do these drivers think will happen the moment they can reasonably be replaced by the very cars they drive?
A lot of this feels like the death throes of an industry that had its time and served its purpose, but an arguably better alternative came along, and the industry now feels as though it is owed something by virtue of existing, rather than by virtue of providing something of value. Pardon me, my buggy whip was left in the beginning of last century.