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Sometimes local laws are not worth complying. Taxi medallions are one example - they artificially limit supply and break the market. The argument that a limit o

Sometimes local laws are not worth complying. Taxi medallions are one example - they artificially limit supply and break the market. The argument that a limit on taxis is needed to prevent congestion ignores the whole concept of 'supply and demand'. Too many taxis? The market will correct itself, just like what's happening with Uber drivers (I know many are quitting due to the excess supply).

wpietri 11y ago
I understand that many people have substituted a faith in "the market" for a faith in god, so forgive me if I offend somebody's religious sensibilities here. But it turns out there were historical reasons the supply of taxis was artificially limited. An argument like this, which conflates "good" with "whatever the market does" is a terrible argument because it is only sidestepping the point. If you want to say the supply restrictions are bad, then you either need to find a different solution that solves the problem or to make an argument that the harm done by supply restrictions is worse than any other possible solution, so we should just let the market ride. Markets can sometimes magically self-correct. But market failure [1] is a thing, and even when it isn't, market optimum is not always a human optimum. And markets are not our masters, but tools we use to serve humans. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_failure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_failure
- eru 11y ago
  > If you want to say the supply restrictions are bad, then you either need to find a different solution that solves the problem [...] Or just point out that the problem that was ostensibly solved wasn't.
  - wpietri 11y ago
    One could do that, assuming one demonstrated it. Were you planning to do that?
eru 11y ago
Also, taxis are only a small fraction of all traffic. Restricting the number of taxis will even worsen congestion (and definitely parking), if people are substituting with their own cars.
- wpietri 11y ago
  Can you demonstrate that? I've had taxi drivers say the exact opposite: in times when there are too many medallions available, they believe that cabs spend a lot more time either looking for fares or stopped waiting for fares. That's because the incentive for each individual cab driver is to keep driving during the slow times hoping to get lucky, and hoping to make things up during the peaks.

wpietri 11y ago

I understand that many people have substituted a faith in "the market" for a faith in god, so forgive me if I offend somebody's religious sensibilities here. But it turns out there were historical reasons the supply of taxis was artificially limited. An argument like this, which conflates "good" with "whatever the market does" is a terrible argument because it is only sidestepping the point. If you want to say the supply restrictions are bad, then you either need to find a different solution that solves the problem or to make an argument that the harm done by supply restrictions is worse than any other possible solution, so we should just let the market ride. Markets can sometimes magically self-correct. But market failure [1] is a thing, and even when it isn't, market optimum is not always a human optimum. And markets are not our masters, but tools we use to serve humans. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_failure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_failure

eru 11y ago
> If you want to say the supply restrictions are bad, then you either need to find a different solution that solves the problem [...] Or just point out that the problem that was ostensibly solved wasn't.
- wpietri 11y ago
  One could do that, assuming one demonstrated it. Were you planning to do that?

eru 11y ago

Also, taxis are only a small fraction of all traffic. Restricting the number of taxis will even worsen congestion (and definitely parking), if people are substituting with their own cars.

wpietri 11y ago
Can you demonstrate that? I've had taxi drivers say the exact opposite: in times when there are too many medallions available, they believe that cabs spend a lot more time either looking for fares or stopped waiting for fares. That's because the incentive for each individual cab driver is to keep driving during the slow times hoping to get lucky, and hoping to make things up during the peaks.