4 ms·

Is it though? I mean Boston city aren't the one doing the suing here. It is the large private companies who are being beaten at their own game. Plus as other p

Is it though? I mean Boston city aren't the one doing the suing here. It is the large private companies who are being beaten at their own game. Plus as other posters said elsewhere, a lot of private taxi companies actually intentionally push for rules which protect their market. So they're essentially buying off local politicians who then pass rules so smaller business cannot join in for "public safety" or similar.

ghc 14y ago
The government-granted "monopoly" here has forced medallion prices so high that of course the companies would sue to protect the investment their drivers make (which they subsidize). They're like a union in that sense. Each medallion is a huge investment because certain neighborhood groups have fought for decades to "preserve" Boston by never increasing the number of medallions. And yes, because of the investment it has become self-perpetuating, with taxi companies protecting their own interests by not being in favor of increasing the number of medallions either. No matter how you look at it, if there weren't medallion limits in the first place there would be healthy competition right now. There are many natural monopolies. Hackneyed carriages (their official name here) are not one of them.
nawitus 14y ago
Lobbying to pass off regulation is the ultimate form of capitalism.
- apineda 14y ago
  That is crony-capitalism. Capitalism without government intervention/regulation = free market. Of course I will always advocate for private property protections etc. base protections.
- sageikosa 14y ago
  Capitalism and interventionism are orthogonal in purpose, although interventionism discriminates against some capital enterprises and for other capital enterprises.
sageikosa 14y ago
Buying off politicians who make rules is about as far from "laissez-faire" as you can get. Lobbying regulators and politicians who make big Federal-sized rules just the same thing, but at scale. But with regards to market segmentation, economies of scale may make it easier (and presumably more efficient) to run several large, rather than dozens of small organizations.

ghc 14y ago

The government-granted "monopoly" here has forced medallion prices so high that of course the companies would sue to protect the investment their drivers make (which they subsidize). They're like a union in that sense. Each medallion is a huge investment because certain neighborhood groups have fought for decades to "preserve" Boston by never increasing the number of medallions. And yes, because of the investment it has become self-perpetuating, with taxi companies protecting their own interests by not being in favor of increasing the number of medallions either. No matter how you look at it, if there weren't medallion limits in the first place there would be healthy competition right now. There are many natural monopolies. Hackneyed carriages (their official name here) are not one of them.

nawitus 14y ago

Lobbying to pass off regulation is the ultimate form of capitalism.

apineda 14y ago
That is crony-capitalism. Capitalism without government intervention/regulation = free market. Of course I will always advocate for private property protections etc. base protections.
sageikosa 14y ago
Capitalism and interventionism are orthogonal in purpose, although interventionism discriminates against some capital enterprises and for other capital enterprises.

sageikosa 14y ago

Buying off politicians who make rules is about as far from "laissez-faire" as you can get. Lobbying regulators and politicians who make big Federal-sized rules just the same thing, but at scale. But with regards to market segmentation, economies of scale may make it easier (and presumably more efficient) to run several large, rather than dozens of small organizations.