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I think "ignoring the law because you disagree with it" is called civil disobedience. Although the term usually means individuals breaking laws for moral reason

I think "ignoring the law because you disagree with it" is called civil disobedience. Although the term usually means individuals breaking laws for moral reasons, not companies doing it for efficiency and profit. Edit: I just wanted to point out that it is sometimes valid to ignore a law because you disagree with it. I'm not saying Ubercab is in the right.

eli 16y ago
And they people who do it usually plan to be arrested. Not sure that makes for a great business plan, but I'd be happy to be proven wrong.
gloob 16y ago
Perhaps I'm just old-fashioned, but the argument "Companies have the right to ignore the law if doing so increases profits" seems rather...unconventional.
- AngryParsley 16y ago
  That is twisting my words beyond even the most uncharitable reading.
  - gloob 16y ago
    The charitable reading of your words, if I didn't misunderstand, is "many people think that people are sometimes justified in ignoring the law, depending on the situation." That's more or less a truism. Edit: Upvoted you back to 1.
- potatolicious 16y ago
  I don't think anyone is arguing that - the argument I see is whether or not it is justified to flout the law if the law is unjust, and the flouting thereof is to the benefit of the public. Which is to say in this case, more convenient, cheaper, easier and more payment options, etc etc. Assuming that Ubercab's claims of requiring equivalent licensing and insurance from their drivers is true, it seems like the only complaint here is that they're taking business from traditional cab businesses; my only response to this would be "well, tough".
qq66 16y ago
If Ubercab is civil disobedience, taxi drivers can drive without licenses and claim that they are participating in civil disobedience. The medallion cost is a huge component of the cost of a taxi (a NYC medallion is worth over $300K) so this is a big fairness-of-competition issue which needs to be addressed.
- uvdiv 16y ago
  >(a NYC medallion is worth over $300K) $607,000 for individuals, $825,000 for corporate owners. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-08-06/nyc-taxi-medallions-wheel-in-profits-rivaling-s-p-500.html http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-08-06/nyc-taxi-medalli... >a big fairness-of-competition issue which needs to be addressed. I think it's transparently obvious that the sole purpose of these regulations is to prevent fairness of competition, to enforce an artificial scarcity that inflates the revenue of cartel members. >If Ubercab is civil disobedience, taxi drivers can drive without licenses and claim that they are participating in civil disobedience. Dare I ask, why not?
  - _delirium 16y ago
    > Dare I ask, why not? If you'd like to try this out, you can approach one of the many unlicensed civil-disobedience taxis that hang out around NYC airports, instead of going with a licensed one. The quality and honesty of service is quite spotty though.
    - uvdiv 16y ago
      To be pedantic, it's not civil disobedience if it's not openly defiant. It's one thing to evade a law, another to defy a law with publicity and challenge the government to prosecute you. Or as Wikipedia defines it: "Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws..." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_disobedience http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_disobedience Evading a law is a selfish act; civil disobedience is going to jail out of principle, which is selfless.

eli 16y ago

And they people who do it usually plan to be arrested. Not sure that makes for a great business plan, but I'd be happy to be proven wrong.

gloob 16y ago

Perhaps I'm just old-fashioned, but the argument "Companies have the right to ignore the law if doing so increases profits" seems rather...unconventional.

AngryParsley 16y ago
That is twisting my words beyond even the most uncharitable reading.
- gloob 16y ago
  The charitable reading of your words, if I didn't misunderstand, is "many people think that people are sometimes justified in ignoring the law, depending on the situation." That's more or less a truism. Edit: Upvoted you back to 1.
potatolicious 16y ago
I don't think anyone is arguing that - the argument I see is whether or not it is justified to flout the law if the law is unjust, and the flouting thereof is to the benefit of the public. Which is to say in this case, more convenient, cheaper, easier and more payment options, etc etc. Assuming that Ubercab's claims of requiring equivalent licensing and insurance from their drivers is true, it seems like the only complaint here is that they're taking business from traditional cab businesses; my only response to this would be "well, tough".

qq66 16y ago

If Ubercab is civil disobedience, taxi drivers can drive without licenses and claim that they are participating in civil disobedience. The medallion cost is a huge component of the cost of a taxi (a NYC medallion is worth over $300K) so this is a big fairness-of-competition issue which needs to be addressed.

uvdiv 16y ago
>(a NYC medallion is worth over $300K) $607,000 for individuals, $825,000 for corporate owners. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-08-06/nyc-taxi-medallions-wheel-in-profits-rivaling-s-p-500.html http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-08-06/nyc-taxi-medalli... >a big fairness-of-competition issue which needs to be addressed. I think it's transparently obvious that the sole purpose of these regulations is to prevent fairness of competition, to enforce an artificial scarcity that inflates the revenue of cartel members. >If Ubercab is civil disobedience, taxi drivers can drive without licenses and claim that they are participating in civil disobedience. Dare I ask, why not?
- _delirium 16y ago
  > Dare I ask, why not? If you'd like to try this out, you can approach one of the many unlicensed civil-disobedience taxis that hang out around NYC airports, instead of going with a licensed one. The quality and honesty of service is quite spotty though.
  - uvdiv 16y ago
    To be pedantic, it's not civil disobedience if it's not openly defiant. It's one thing to evade a law, another to defy a law with publicity and challenge the government to prosecute you. Or as Wikipedia defines it: "Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws..." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_disobedience http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_disobedience Evading a law is a selfish act; civil disobedience is going to jail out of principle, which is selfless.