4 ms·

"That's essentially it, and as soon as Uber follows the rules, they can operate freely." The legislation is perhaps not about stifling competition or anything.

by zo1 12y ago

"That's essentially it, and as soon as Uber follows the rules, they can operate freely." The legislation is perhaps not about stifling competition or anything. But it has the end result of reducing competition by raising the barriers to entry. Not only that, but it actively prevents competition (e.g. low-end providers) by making a whole segment of the market illegal. It's just the nature of regulation being universal to the country as a whole. i.e. it doesn't allow people to make their own judgements about what safety level they want based on their willingness to pay/not pay for it. In essence boiling down to "you get the extra safety, even if you can't actually use the service because the extra safety bumped up the cost"

jacquesm 12y ago
Try calling yourself an engineer in Germany and see how well that goes. That's also a 'barrier to entry', you have to study and prove that you're capable by passing a bunch of exams. How unfair! Some regulation is good, depending on the field. Public transportation is in my opinion one of those fields (and engineering another). Uber could fairly easily comply with these laws but it would cut into their profits and that is the reason why they have chosen to ignore the law and to cut their drivers loose the moment something happens (such as when a driver is involved in an accident).
Tomte 12y ago
You've understood it! We Germans want this "market" to be illegal. Just like erecting skyscrapers that cannot withstand a summer breeze or storing nuclear waste on a city landfill. If Americans want to do it differently, be my guest. Yes, you're more focused on individual freedom than the rest of the world. Fine with me. But maybe you could try to understand that Germans are very safety-oriented. And maybe you could just accept that instead of telling us that we're not doing things like America and therefore we're wrong.
- zo1 12y ago
  "You've understood it! We Germans want this "market" to be illegal." Not all Germans, seeing as people are actually using Uber in Germany. That's the point I was trying to make. Tyranny of the majority, I suppose, unfortunate, but apparently "the best we got". Side note: I'm not actually American. Please don't stereotype and make assumptions based on opinion/nationality, even if it is a good one such as "focused on individual freedom" and "Germans are very safety-oriented", etc.
  - Xylakant 12y ago
    Some germans also buy beef lasagna that's actually horse interlaced with yucky medications, because it's cheap. A lot of germans buy computers at media markt and at the same time complain that the nice guy fixing computers around the corner has to close. He was always so friendly and gave so much recommendations about which parts to buy, where to I go now to get proper advice. We buy bread at the supermarket and complain that it's not the same as back then, when we'd still eat hand-made bread where every loaf was different (I could always tell when the baker was out for a long party by the shape of the rolls). People are very bad at judging what's in their best interest, especially since often their personal interest at the time when doing the transaction conflicts with they long-term best interest or the societies interest. And so, to some level, some things (like taxi companies) are regulated in germany. This is obviously an imperfect system, but I remain unconvinced that free market rules all is a better system. There are certainly individuals who prefer Uber and who's interests align very well with Uber, but I'm uncertain that's a majority. That's certainly annoying to those individuals, but that's life in a society, we all have to give at some point. Germany. This is obviously an imperfect

by zo1 12y ago

jacquesm 12y ago

Try calling yourself an engineer in Germany and see how well that goes. That's also a 'barrier to entry', you have to study and prove that you're capable by passing a bunch of exams. How unfair! Some regulation is good, depending on the field. Public transportation is in my opinion one of those fields (and engineering another). Uber could fairly easily comply with these laws but it would cut into their profits and that is the reason why they have chosen to ignore the law and to cut their drivers loose the moment something happens (such as when a driver is involved in an accident).

Tomte 12y ago

You've understood it! We Germans want this "market" to be illegal. Just like erecting skyscrapers that cannot withstand a summer breeze or storing nuclear waste on a city landfill. If Americans want to do it differently, be my guest. Yes, you're more focused on individual freedom than the rest of the world. Fine with me. But maybe you could try to understand that Germans are very safety-oriented. And maybe you could just accept that instead of telling us that we're not doing things like America and therefore we're wrong.

zo1 12y ago
"You've understood it! We Germans want this "market" to be illegal." Not all Germans, seeing as people are actually using Uber in Germany. That's the point I was trying to make. Tyranny of the majority, I suppose, unfortunate, but apparently "the best we got". Side note: I'm not actually American. Please don't stereotype and make assumptions based on opinion/nationality, even if it is a good one such as "focused on individual freedom" and "Germans are very safety-oriented", etc.
- Xylakant 12y ago
  Some germans also buy beef lasagna that's actually horse interlaced with yucky medications, because it's cheap. A lot of germans buy computers at media markt and at the same time complain that the nice guy fixing computers around the corner has to close. He was always so friendly and gave so much recommendations about which parts to buy, where to I go now to get proper advice. We buy bread at the supermarket and complain that it's not the same as back then, when we'd still eat hand-made bread where every loaf was different (I could always tell when the baker was out for a long party by the shape of the rolls). People are very bad at judging what's in their best interest, especially since often their personal interest at the time when doing the transaction conflicts with they long-term best interest or the societies interest. And so, to some level, some things (like taxi companies) are regulated in germany. This is obviously an imperfect system, but I remain unconvinced that free market rules all is a better system. There are certainly individuals who prefer Uber and who's interests align very well with Uber, but I'm uncertain that's a majority. That's certainly annoying to those individuals, but that's life in a society, we all have to give at some point. Germany. This is obviously an imperfect