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Also note that the medallion system should never have been created in the first place. If, instead, the city could auction off 13,347 medallions good for a year

Also note that the medallion system should never have been created in the first place. If, instead, the city could auction off 13,347 medallions good for a year, all the price appreciation would have gone to the taxpayers of New York instead of characters like Mr. Friedman. Issuing medallions as a property right was a ludicrously short-sighted move (or more likely, a corrupt one).

MCRed 12y ago
How about get rid of medallions and let a free market exist? Uber is going to provide it if they don't, in fact, that restriction on the market-- artificially for political purposes-- is what made Uber possible.
- bryanlarsen 12y ago
  Uber's, taxis and other cars get to use Manhattan streets for free. The real estate those streets sit on is perhaps the most valuable in the entire world, and the maintenance for those streets is paid for via property taxes. I'm all for a free market, as long as players in the game aren't freeloading.
  - SamReidHughes 12y ago
    There exist gas taxes. Also the people using Uber are paying or doing business with entities paying property taxes.
- dankohn1 12y ago
  The problem is that once the medallions were created, they represent a property right, and the Fifth Amendment Taking Clause prevents the government from eliminating them without compensation. And, it's hard to see the argument for spending $16 B to do so. On the positive front, once Uber switches to robot drivers in the next decade, yellow taxis will probably go away forever, and the medallion system can be eliminated. Then, the city can be compensated via congestion pricing for the traffic that on-demand cars generate. I highly recommend checking out Move NY for the most credible congestion pricing plan under consideration: http://iheartmoveny.org/ http://iheartmoveny.org/
btdollar 12y ago
The complaint reminded me of that article a while back decrying tax increases because the writer would probably have to fire his maid and gardener, and be forced to send his kids to public school.
- dantheman 12y ago
  That's completely different - this guy is asking for money, someone complaining about a tax increase is say stop taking my money.
  - icebraining 12y ago
    On the other hand, the city did sell the medallion under the promise of keeping competition out. Aren't they scamming the medallion owners by not doing so? Even if we think the medallion system is corrupt and/or unjust, why should the buyers be the ones left hanging, while the city which created the system walks away with the money from its sale?
    - dantheman 12y ago
      The medallions are still the only way to run a yellow cab - nothing has changed with regards to that. It'd be like cabbies complaining that new subways were opening, or the busses got better, and their business was going down.

MCRed 12y ago

How about get rid of medallions and let a free market exist? Uber is going to provide it if they don't, in fact, that restriction on the market-- artificially for political purposes-- is what made Uber possible.

bryanlarsen 12y ago
Uber's, taxis and other cars get to use Manhattan streets for free. The real estate those streets sit on is perhaps the most valuable in the entire world, and the maintenance for those streets is paid for via property taxes. I'm all for a free market, as long as players in the game aren't freeloading.
- SamReidHughes 12y ago
  There exist gas taxes. Also the people using Uber are paying or doing business with entities paying property taxes.
dankohn1 12y ago
The problem is that once the medallions were created, they represent a property right, and the Fifth Amendment Taking Clause prevents the government from eliminating them without compensation. And, it's hard to see the argument for spending $16 B to do so. On the positive front, once Uber switches to robot drivers in the next decade, yellow taxis will probably go away forever, and the medallion system can be eliminated. Then, the city can be compensated via congestion pricing for the traffic that on-demand cars generate. I highly recommend checking out Move NY for the most credible congestion pricing plan under consideration: http://iheartmoveny.org/ http://iheartmoveny.org/

btdollar 12y ago

The complaint reminded me of that article a while back decrying tax increases because the writer would probably have to fire his maid and gardener, and be forced to send his kids to public school.

dantheman 12y ago
That's completely different - this guy is asking for money, someone complaining about a tax increase is say stop taking my money.
- icebraining 12y ago
  On the other hand, the city did sell the medallion under the promise of keeping competition out. Aren't they scamming the medallion owners by not doing so? Even if we think the medallion system is corrupt and/or unjust, why should the buyers be the ones left hanging, while the city which created the system walks away with the money from its sale?
  - dantheman 12y ago
    The medallions are still the only way to run a yellow cab - nothing has changed with regards to that. It'd be like cabbies complaining that new subways were opening, or the busses got better, and their business was going down.