24 ms·

I generally agree with you; but you do need some controls, otherwise SF would be overrun with such drivers. The capacity of the streets is limited, you know. Th

by ajays 15y ago

I generally agree with you; but you do need some controls, otherwise SF would be overrun with such drivers. The capacity of the streets is limited, you know. The idea in general is to have more people using public transportation, as it is healthier and better for the environment. But: given the fact that we _do_ have some sort of a licensing scheme (medallions), it would be better to have short-term leases, than lock away a medallion in the pocket of some well-connected dude who makes a killing renting it out.

uvdiv 15y ago
"but you do need some controls, otherwise SF would be overrun with such drivers." That's a pretty laughable scare-story if you think about it. Streets literally clogged with taxis? They'd be out of business long before that. Price controls do not work. There is no legitimacy for central planning in business activities, least of all in a nominally "free" country. "The idea in general is to have more people using public transportation, as it is healthier and better for the environment." No it's not. If it were, they would be criminalizing personal cars just like taxis. They're not. It's purely about enforcing a lucrative cartel. (Not replying to the implicit suggestion that government should criminalize any sort of transport for "environmental reasons". I used to think that was a right-wing strawman...) "But: given the fact that we _do_ have some sort of a licensing scheme (medallions)," Medallions aren't licensing, they are cartel enforcement. They are about maintaining a price-controlled, quota'd monopoly for a politically-connected union class -- as opposed to inspecting, training, and certifying drivers and taxi cars for safety. They are orthogonal concepts.
- ajays 15y ago
  I have spoken to a few cab drivers. They would love to drive their own cabs in the City, but don't have the license (i.e. medallion) to do it. What is to stop them from buying rickety old smog-producing cars and clogging up the city streets? And the glut of cabs will cause a downward spiral in quality of service. Why maintain a clean cab when it cuts into the profits, and your competitor is not doing so? "Medallions aren't licensing, they are cartel enforcement. They are about maintaining a price-controlled, quota'd monopoly for a politically-connected union class -- as opposed to inspecting, training, and certifying drivers and taxi cars for safety. They are orthogonal concepts." But your cousin can come and make the same argument you are making about inspecting/training/certifying drivers: that it is to maintain a 'cartel' and deny access to other drivers. Who will do this inspecting, etc.? The same government that you are scoffing at?
  - uvdiv 15y ago
    "What is to stop them from buying rickety old smog-producing cars and clogging up the city streets?" What's to stop cartel taxis from cutting costs in the same way? I don't see the connection. And the glut of cabs will cause a downward spiral in quality of service. Why maintain a clean cab when it cuts into the profits, and your competitor is not doing so?" Brand value? Also, so what? So what if people who care about their wallets prefer a cab that costs half as much, even if its not as clean and shiny as your price-inflated central planning solution? (And it's not just taxis -- private mass transit, like vans, directly competes with taxi cartels and are likewise assaulted by monopoly enforcers. Price matters.) "But your cousin can come and make the same argument you are making about inspecting/training/certifying drivers: that it is to maintain a 'cartel' and deny access to other drivers." Because the intent of inspection, education, and certification is emphatically not to maintain a cartel, and unless the regulators are more-than-usually incompetent it will not cost anywhere close to e.g. $930,000 per person [1]. Nor would that entail explicit quotas/supply caps. The intent of the medallion system is explicitly and openly to act as a supply cap, to artificially inflate wages in the taxi industry. It has nothing to do with safety regulation, and it is silly to pretend you do not see the difference. [1] http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110505006101/en/Medallion-Financial-Corp.-Reports-2011-Quarter-Results http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110505006101/en/Meda... "The same government that you are scoffing at?" I'm not scoffing at government; I'm scoffing at a particular government policy which is corrupt, unjust, and an insult to freedom.

by ajays 15y ago

uvdiv 15y ago

"but you do need some controls, otherwise SF would be overrun with such drivers." That's a pretty laughable scare-story if you think about it. Streets literally clogged with taxis? They'd be out of business long before that. Price controls do not work. There is no legitimacy for central planning in business activities, least of all in a nominally "free" country. "The idea in general is to have more people using public transportation, as it is healthier and better for the environment." No it's not. If it were, they would be criminalizing personal cars just like taxis. They're not. It's purely about enforcing a lucrative cartel. (Not replying to the implicit suggestion that government should criminalize any sort of transport for "environmental reasons". I used to think that was a right-wing strawman...) "But: given the fact that we _do_ have some sort of a licensing scheme (medallions)," Medallions aren't licensing, they are cartel enforcement. They are about maintaining a price-controlled, quota'd monopoly for a politically-connected union class -- as opposed to inspecting, training, and certifying drivers and taxi cars for safety. They are orthogonal concepts.

ajays 15y ago
I have spoken to a few cab drivers. They would love to drive their own cabs in the City, but don't have the license (i.e. medallion) to do it. What is to stop them from buying rickety old smog-producing cars and clogging up the city streets? And the glut of cabs will cause a downward spiral in quality of service. Why maintain a clean cab when it cuts into the profits, and your competitor is not doing so? "Medallions aren't licensing, they are cartel enforcement. They are about maintaining a price-controlled, quota'd monopoly for a politically-connected union class -- as opposed to inspecting, training, and certifying drivers and taxi cars for safety. They are orthogonal concepts." But your cousin can come and make the same argument you are making about inspecting/training/certifying drivers: that it is to maintain a 'cartel' and deny access to other drivers. Who will do this inspecting, etc.? The same government that you are scoffing at?
- uvdiv 15y ago
  "What is to stop them from buying rickety old smog-producing cars and clogging up the city streets?" What's to stop cartel taxis from cutting costs in the same way? I don't see the connection. And the glut of cabs will cause a downward spiral in quality of service. Why maintain a clean cab when it cuts into the profits, and your competitor is not doing so?" Brand value? Also, so what? So what if people who care about their wallets prefer a cab that costs half as much, even if its not as clean and shiny as your price-inflated central planning solution? (And it's not just taxis -- private mass transit, like vans, directly competes with taxi cartels and are likewise assaulted by monopoly enforcers. Price matters.) "But your cousin can come and make the same argument you are making about inspecting/training/certifying drivers: that it is to maintain a 'cartel' and deny access to other drivers." Because the intent of inspection, education, and certification is emphatically not to maintain a cartel, and unless the regulators are more-than-usually incompetent it will not cost anywhere close to e.g. $930,000 per person [1]. Nor would that entail explicit quotas/supply caps. The intent of the medallion system is explicitly and openly to act as a supply cap, to artificially inflate wages in the taxi industry. It has nothing to do with safety regulation, and it is silly to pretend you do not see the difference. [1] http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110505006101/en/Medallion-Financial-Corp.-Reports-2011-Quarter-Results http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110505006101/en/Meda... "The same government that you are scoffing at?" I'm not scoffing at government; I'm scoffing at a particular government policy which is corrupt, unjust, and an insult to freedom.