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I don't know what taxis you ride in, but i routinely ride in medallion taxis that either use GPS or their iphone to figure out where to go. I've also had some

I don't know what taxis you ride in, but i routinely ride in medallion taxis that either use GPS or their iphone to figure out where to go. I've also had some claim that they're at the destination until I pull out my phone and point to them on the map where to go. If you want to regulate taxis, you can still do that - but there is no reason to limit the supply of taxis.

dominicmauro 14y ago
The guy you're replying to just gave you a reason to limit the supply of taxis: regulating them is expensive.
- aetherson 14y ago
  That's not a reason to limit the supply of taxis. That's a reason to charge a fee for a taxi license that defrays the cost of regulating them.
  - mindcrime 14y ago
    Sounds like a reason to stop regulating taxis to me. If some sort of independent "certification" is needed, there's no reason the free market can't provide such a service. In fact, it such a service is actually valuable, it's almost inevitable that it would emerge.
    - andylei 14y ago
      > there's no reason the free market can't provide such a service sure there is. here's a bunch of reasons: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_failure http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_failure
      - mindcrime 14y ago
        Let me rephrase that, then: > there's no particular reason the free market can't provide such a service, but there's no guarantee that it will. Still, I stand by my assertion that, in general, if such a service is legitimately valued and necessary, a provider will emerge. No, a free market does not guarantee an optimal outcome for every individual, not does it guarantee that well get what we wish for. But free markets are still generally better than non-free ones. Pointing out that there are pathologies in full fledged laissez-faire doesn't count for much, unless one contends - and can prove - that (one or more of) the other options has no pathologies of it's own.

dominicmauro 14y ago

The guy you're replying to just gave you a reason to limit the supply of taxis: regulating them is expensive.

aetherson 14y ago
That's not a reason to limit the supply of taxis. That's a reason to charge a fee for a taxi license that defrays the cost of regulating them.
- mindcrime 14y ago
  Sounds like a reason to stop regulating taxis to me. If some sort of independent "certification" is needed, there's no reason the free market can't provide such a service. In fact, it such a service is actually valuable, it's almost inevitable that it would emerge.
  - andylei 14y ago
    > there's no reason the free market can't provide such a service sure there is. here's a bunch of reasons: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_failure http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_failure
    - mindcrime 14y ago
      Let me rephrase that, then: > there's no particular reason the free market can't provide such a service, but there's no guarantee that it will. Still, I stand by my assertion that, in general, if such a service is legitimately valued and necessary, a provider will emerge. No, a free market does not guarantee an optimal outcome for every individual, not does it guarantee that well get what we wish for. But free markets are still generally better than non-free ones. Pointing out that there are pathologies in full fledged laissez-faire doesn't count for much, unless one contends - and can prove - that (one or more of) the other options has no pathologies of it's own.