The liberals amongst us will offer this up as “proof” of the “value” of government regulation. I kid you not.
“No one has to invest a fortune to get the government’s OK to sell tacos or put out a newspaper or practice podiatry”
For now.
Try practicing medicine without a state license, try selling a taco without the state health department's approval and I'm sure there are government hoops to be jumped through to publish a newspaper. Everything is regulated and taxed by government from the smallest local government to the fed.
Yes, easily. If the operators of such business at point X bought enough politicians, it would suddenly become a major public safety issue to limit the number of shoe stores. And the supply of accountants is limited by the cost of CPA licensing, rather than by market forces.
Though I agree with the sentiment of the article, this statement is not exactly true. Car Services (radio dispatched) have filled this nitche for decades.
From wiki; "While medallion taxicabs in New York are always yellow, car service vehicles may be any color but yellow, and are usually black. For this reason, these taxi operators are sometimes called “black car” services. Despite the de jure prohibition on picking up passengers who hail on the street, some livery cabs nevertheless do so anyway, often to make extra money. When a livery cab engages in street pick-ups, it becomes known as a "gypsy cab." They are often found in areas not routinely visited by medallion cabs, and authorities tend to turn a blind eye to the practice rather than leave sections of the city without cab service."
I don’t see how someone can pay a million dollars for a medallion and on top of the costs of operating a cab, make a living. It doesn’t compute
If NYC can put these puppies on the market and even get away with charging 500,000 bucks for one, NEVER, EVER AGAIN will I listen to ONE SINGLE WHINE about NYC running out of cash!!!
Let the garbage pile up past the first floor! They have control of their destiny!
The power to regulate, tax, or license is the power to destroy. How does regulating taxis benefit the public? Barbers and hairdressers are licensed in many states. As are nail technicians, massage therapists, and daycares. Is the public interest being served by all this “oversight”? Or is it just a modern form of the guild, and a revenue generator for bureaucrats?
New York City is the cesspool of corruption, “jack-booted” political self-serving mandates and Union power bestowed on the residents who once enjoyed the liberties and freedoms most of us still enjoy (for now). Free markets simply don’t exist there due to the overbearing regulations, fees and downright quelling of competition for the “favorite ones.”
You can’t feel sorry for any of the residents however since, over the years, they voted every bit of this upon themselves.