by Steve Mastro
Left just a little bit alone, see how the entrepreneur improved cab service in Philadelphia, and read how the local government is taking over under the auspices of improving things, and how they may put the good guys out of buisness.
Why are they even involved!?!?!?!?!?!
How about this solution to cabs that are not "service-oriented" - abolish expensive taxi licensing schemes, and simply let the market work to weed out the bad ones? Prosecute unlicensed and unsafe drivers, otherwise stay completely out of it.
And the answer is to let the city handle it at all?
James Ney, director of the PAA's Taxi and Limousine Division, downplays the talk of weeding out smaller companies. "The only intent here is better service and higher standards for cabs and drivers," he says. "There are problems with dirty vehicles, unsafe drivers and drivers that are not service-oriented." And the answer to this is...more regulation?
I just can't list all the ways the city shoots itself in the foot as far as retaining businesses within its borders. Just another example.
...because when the state took over the Parking Authority, it was just the vehicle the Republican state Legistature needed to raise revenue while obscuring their basic socialism. They will continue to use the PPA to expand their control of the private economy because, despite their small-government rhetoric, they are statists through-and through.
