4 ms·

> Why should the city buy them back So otherwise hopeless drivers/single medallion owners who are severely in debt don't end up committing mass suicide.

gammateam 8y ago
the goal is to lower congestion to improve commerce, not address mental health issues.
bluedevil2k 8y ago
People who bought million dollar homes and then saw them plunge in value to $300k didn't commit mass suicide, so why would you assume it would happen in this case?
- Eric_WVGG 8y ago
  Five in the past five months. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/27/nyregion/taxi-driver-suicide-nyc.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/27/nyregion/taxi-driver-suic...
ihsw3 8y ago
We live in a free market, they're free to find work elsewhere. Not only that but these cabbies have the unbelievable fortune of being able to unload these medallions through declaring chapter 7/chapter 13 bankruptcy. There are so many avenues for them to relieve themselves from this burden and better their circumstances that you'd be hard-pressed to take any claims of mass-suicide seriously.
- vkou 8y ago
  Suppose that your state government embarks on a program of land reform. And suppose that they institute new/raise existing taxes/restrictions, that cause the value of your Silicon Valley home to go from ~2.2m to something reasonable, like ~200k. Most economists are in agreement that dramatically increasing the cost of owning property (And, conversely, lowering the market value of existing properties) is one of the answers to the current housing crisis. Once the rules are changed, the free market can figure things out going forward! Are you going to cheer this process on? It will, after all, greatly improve life for people who don't have millions of dollars to pour into housing.
- sigstoat 8y ago
  > We live in a free market, they're free to find work elsewhere. except taxis aren't currently a free market, and definitely weren't when many of those medallions were originally purchased. the government shouldn't have been mucking with the market, but it did.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
JumpCrisscross 8y ago
> single medallion owners Most medallions are owned by corporate owners [1]. The drivers work for the medallion owner. The medallion owner collects rent. [1] http://nymag.com/nymetro/urban/features/taxi/n_10292/ http://nymag.com/nymetro/urban/features/taxi/n_10292/
- tooltalk 8y ago
  >CURRENT OWNERSHIP: 17 percent of medallions are owned by cab fleets; 54 percent are owned by leasing agents, who delegate management to fleets; and 29 percent are owned by independent drivers. I think 29%, 12,187 * .29 ~ 3500 cab drivers, is not insignificant numbers. I don't know though anyone who owns their own medallions -- a few I knew worked for a company that leased their medallions and they paid something like $1000 per week.
  - misterprime 8y ago
    The lease comes with the medallion and a car though, right?
manfredo 8y ago
Risk is inherent in any investment. If someone put their life savings into Bitcoin while it was at $20k should b they be compensated by the government? A taxi medallion is like any other investment: its price is subject to fluctuation and if someone took that risk of investing in it the consequences are on them.

gammateam 8y ago

the goal is to lower congestion to improve commerce, not address mental health issues.

bluedevil2k 8y ago

People who bought million dollar homes and then saw them plunge in value to $300k didn't commit mass suicide, so why would you assume it would happen in this case?

Eric_WVGG 8y ago
Five in the past five months. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/27/nyregion/taxi-driver-suicide-nyc.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/27/nyregion/taxi-driver-suic...

ihsw3 8y ago

We live in a free market, they're free to find work elsewhere. Not only that but these cabbies have the unbelievable fortune of being able to unload these medallions through declaring chapter 7/chapter 13 bankruptcy. There are so many avenues for them to relieve themselves from this burden and better their circumstances that you'd be hard-pressed to take any claims of mass-suicide seriously.

vkou 8y ago
Suppose that your state government embarks on a program of land reform. And suppose that they institute new/raise existing taxes/restrictions, that cause the value of your Silicon Valley home to go from ~2.2m to something reasonable, like ~200k. Most economists are in agreement that dramatically increasing the cost of owning property (And, conversely, lowering the market value of existing properties) is one of the answers to the current housing crisis. Once the rules are changed, the free market can figure things out going forward! Are you going to cheer this process on? It will, after all, greatly improve life for people who don't have millions of dollars to pour into housing.
sigstoat 8y ago
> We live in a free market, they're free to find work elsewhere. except taxis aren't currently a free market, and definitely weren't when many of those medallions were originally purchased. the government shouldn't have been mucking with the market, but it did.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

JumpCrisscross 8y ago

> single medallion owners Most medallions are owned by corporate owners [1]. The drivers work for the medallion owner. The medallion owner collects rent. [1] http://nymag.com/nymetro/urban/features/taxi/n_10292/ http://nymag.com/nymetro/urban/features/taxi/n_10292/

tooltalk 8y ago
>CURRENT OWNERSHIP: 17 percent of medallions are owned by cab fleets; 54 percent are owned by leasing agents, who delegate management to fleets; and 29 percent are owned by independent drivers. I think 29%, 12,187 * .29 ~ 3500 cab drivers, is not insignificant numbers. I don't know though anyone who owns their own medallions -- a few I knew worked for a company that leased their medallions and they paid something like $1000 per week.
- misterprime 8y ago
  The lease comes with the medallion and a car though, right?

manfredo 8y ago

Risk is inherent in any investment. If someone put their life savings into Bitcoin while it was at $20k should b they be compensated by the government? A taxi medallion is like any other investment: its price is subject to fluctuation and if someone took that risk of investing in it the consequences are on them.