In terms of individual taxi drivers who took out massive loans this is a valid argument. In terms of the rent-seeking institutional investors who lobbied the g

In terms of individual taxi drivers who took out massive loans this is a valid argument. In terms of the rent-seeking institutional investors who lobbied the government to create an asset class which diverts most of the profits away from the people actually doing the work and makes taxis more expensive for no return in public benefit. I have no issue with government regulation of the taxi industry - quite the opposite. Certainly I think that it's important to mandate vehicle safety inspections. But if taxi licenses are going to be supply constrained, they should be issued by the government for a flat fee on a first-come first-served, use-it-or-lose-it basis. They should only be purchasable by the driver that will be driving the taxi and they should not be transferrable.