Taxi drivers have unions through which they have pressurized government to create unusual barriers to entry. Thus they become rent seekers. Also in many cities

Taxi drivers have unions through which they have pressurized government to create unusual barriers to entry. Thus they become rent seekers. Also in many cities like NY, the taxi driver is not the owner of the taxi badge, since a badge costs upward of $300K it is often owned by some rich guy/company and taxi driver is basically a contractor treated even worse than Uber and Lyft's drivers. California's move to force Uber to change agreements of its employment is nothing but a move to create new kind of rent seekers.