3 ms·

Because Taxi drivers depend on them to make a living and to eventually retire on. It's a big investment.

• bluedevil2k 8y ago
  They don't buy them in cash, they take out a loan to purchase the medallions. They have the option to declare bankruptcy, default on their loan, or if they're from another country, move out of the United States. In any case, it wouldn't make sense to bail out all these medallion owners, because essentially the owners are banks.
• ihsw3 8y ago
  They can take responsibility for their actions like everybody else, and that includes having the advantage that nobody else in the history of debtors has ever had -- the ability to declare bankruptcy and survive with their hide intact.
• mi100hael 8y ago
  How many individual drivers even own medallions? I was under the impression most of the time cab companies own them and drivers take the cars out from a pool.