The part you are ignoring is that the customers, the public, are not sheep. Bad services can't survive. People would not make use of them. All you need are r

The part you are ignoring is that the customers, the public, are not sheep. Bad services can't survive. People would not make use of them. All you need are reasonable laws. Cabs ought to be in good shape. Serviced regularly. That sort of thing. Other than that, yes, let the market evolve without interference. Do you really think that Manhattan would end-up clogged with bad cabs from curb to curb? No. Beyond a certain population of cabs it will become unprofitable. At some point some would exit the market and do something else. Others might dive for low pricing. Yet others might choose to offer premium services and convenience and vie for those willing to pay a little more. In the end you'd have competition which is good for everyone involved. I sometimes find it ironic that liberals think they are helping the middle class and the poor by choosing to allow government to stick its paws into everything. In reality the result is exactly the opposite: The rules and regs keep entrepreneurs without lots of money out of some markets and the entitlement programs sap any drive to grow and succeed from the less fortunate. Eliminate those and you'll promote innovation, disruption and growth in some markets that have become "feudalized" through excessive government involvement and you'll see masses of people pull themselves out of poverty by working hard, going to school and generally competing for a better standing in life. While I find some republican ideas are overly driven by repulsive (to me) religious beliefs (for example, their approach to homosexuals) I have to say that, today, the only choice we have to pull our country out of the steep (and it is steep) nose-dive it is in is to support their candidates and push for a quick 180 across the board. The reality is that libertarian candidates are not going to gain massive traction for a long, long time. We don't have time to waste. We've already wasted enough of it. Obama? He wasn't even qualified to run a cookie baking operation when he was elected. Rewind to four years ago and imagine posting his resume on Monster.com to shop for a job. I'd be surprised if anyone would consider hiring him to run a cookie factory. Yet, we handed him (yes, me too) our country because he spoke well, smiled a lot and was a hip candidate. Change. And, of course, idiot Hollywood actors were in love with him. You know, the guys who make twenty million dollars to make a movie, live in ten million dollar mansions and work a few weeks a year? What the hell is wrong with us? Here we are. Lots of us regretting what we did. And we have the scars to show for it. The guy was a joke and is a joke. If this country doesn't do a fast 180 and re-align with free enterprise and capitalism we are done.