Illegal Everything: Taxi Monopolies

Outrage over Uber’s surge prices after #ChelseaExplosion. But govt monopoly on taxis makes them MUCH more expensive, as I’ve covered:

[@theofficialexpert]

Haha Uber killed the price of the medallion

[@UndefinedBailiwick]

Those taxi cab companies are making millions, but Uber (and others like it) are making billions. Guess who can pay more for representatives?

[@peter130476]

@@UndefinedBailiwick I hope e-scoots kill them all.

[@lvteachme973]

I love it. Haha

[@steveonrock]

No no no. The city did that.

[@Dog_in_tree]

@@peter130476 that definitely won't happen lol

[@f1delio]

That lobbyist is drunk af

[@GoldRushMedia2023]

That lobbyist could benefit from a ballistic lobotomy.

[@Millermacs]

Severely low IQ*

[@robertb1893]

regoolations

[@r6685]

longtrang1 roflmao

[@siquod]

He needs to be. How else could he sleep at night?

[@DanielRamos-dg2qe]

A fine example of "If it ain't broke, brake it"

[@matrixman8582]

AVeryHappyTeddyBear I think he meant to say "brake" because a taxi has a brake. You get it?

[@dougsmith6262]

For every action, there is an equal and opposite government program.

[@annemouse6788]

Nice pun!

[@kathyalex778]

Haha

[@bisty111]

That lobbyist literally has no arguments other than “we should keep newcomers out.” Why? Who knows?

[@josephsarto689]

Because this is a reg-a-lated industry lol

[@scottmccluremcclure3916]

We need to start getting rid of laws not adding

[@andrewstechlessons]

Absolutely! The pollition said he didn't veto a single law put out.

[@jaythrash8804]

Am I hearing this correctly? The dude is seriously getting paid $775 an hour?! WTF?

[@ZeroBlackfire]

I almost shit my pants.....He can work 12 hours, and make more than what i do in a year... >->

[@ricardoamendoeira3800]

He needs money to put in the pockets of politicians, If he keeps too much for himself he'll get fired for not being convincing enough.

[@AdmiralBonetoPick]

Not exactly. The truth is, these lobbyists get huge "salaries", but then a sizeable portion of that they then "donate" to various politicians' re-election campaigns, and that's how they win them over to change the law in their clients' favour. Foreign companies especially do it this way, because it's illegal for them to donate directly to US politicians, but it's perfectly legal for them to pay massive salaries to lobbyists, and then for those lobbyists to make 'voluntary' donations to politicians' campaigns. The statistics are even published each election of which politicians receive the most donations from "lobbyists who represent foreign companies". It won't surprise you to hear that Hillary Clinton came number one in terms of the most such donations received.

[@LiquidZulu]

"Newcomers should be squeezed out" - Big govt

[@donaldjgrav3yardguyy335]

Uber / lyft will put you out of business

[@Stacy_Smith]

Donald Labelle A lot of state and local governments have passed laws outlawing ride share apps without a taxi license.

[@renegadebiker24]

@@Stacy_Smith Which States, or are you just stating that just to state it??? Provide me with proof, and not just conjecture and heresay.

[@renegadebiker24]

Taxis feel threatened by myself and I think that it is stupid, because I do drive for Uber and Lyft, and if these taxis would just compete with Uber and Lyft, instead of trying to steal from the rider, then they could compete, but offering a base fare that is way more expensive than the actual distance from point a to point b is why they are losing it to Uber and Lyft.

[@Stacy_Smith]

@@renegadebiker24 I'm back to work now, you'll have to do your own research.

[@joeyvieira9618]

lynxman busman until an accident happens and insurance won’t cover it.

[@daystar3886]

Medallion is a $1,000,000..wow!!. That is unbelievable

[@skeleskele]

Now its $80,000 LMAO. What a discount. Give all your money to government. Greedy bastards

[@a.gabbey5569]

"And new comers should be squeezed out". What a nightmare.

[@nethoncho]

Excellent story. Every high school teacher in America should bring this up in their class

[@nilesayer3046]

Yes

[@drinkingpoolwater]

Haha teachers aren’t gonna touch that subject with a 100 foot pole. They’d rather tell our kids about protests and black lives matter.

[@Millermacs]

@momentinpassing Very true

[@karylkidd1232]

"And, new-comers should be squeezed out." That is honesty. Arsehat level is high, but at least straight up.

[@AsitorCorporation]

If there were too many taxis, they would go out of business. If there weren't enough, people would have opportunity. Cutting the number in half when it already works is regulating for no good reason, and adding these badges to prevent people buying their own taxi only leads to less people who can make their own jobs and makes the rich even richer. In a free market, anybody should be able to make their own taxi (I'm sure there should be some kind of test to regulate it - that is as far as the regulations should go). In a free market it would also be possible for rich people to hire drivers for their company, but all this does is force one of the options. I'm still appauled that he said there were too many taxi drivers, honestly. If there were too many then they would stop being taxi drivers because they wouldn't get enough money. The free market is the ultimate decider of how many of what there should be.

[@Amateur_Pianist_472]

If theres too many then the prices go down so people use the service more.

[@Victor-iq5rd]

All I require is a more advanced driver's test.

[@shackman9566]

Supply and demand price and quality of service all work to regulate any industry. This is just one of thousands of regulations and laws crippling free enterprise in this country. And there all precipitated by individuals who either scream at township and city council meetings or hire lobbyists. We need common sense rules and regulations or guidelines focused creating environments that work for everyone. As for these taxi drivers they should only be required to attend a once in a lifetime training program that is designed to help them do their job better and safer. The rest will sort itself out. If they don't keep their cab in good order they won't be competitive. Etc.

[@urphakeandgey6308]

In a fully free market, third parties would offer "certificates" of some kind, which cab drivers might actually pursue because it makes their business look good and more "official."

[@Monkeywrench542]

scotus has already ruled that a monopoly is illegal. make this kind of thing illegal.

[@livefree1030]

Monkeywrench542 Democrats support Monopolies

[@Syncopatientzero]

government=monopoly+force

[@annemouse6788]

The only way a monopoly ever persists is due to support from the govt!

[@annemouse6788]

Aye, which is why govt insists that it ought to have a monopoly on the ability to use force... I. E. gun control laws are not about keeping criminals from having guns but to make it harder for the average Joe to have a gun so that he can resist either the armed criminals strong arming him on the street or the govt when it gets into the 'protection' racket.

[@newkingd0m]

It makes me sick to when I see how nasty this government is getting.

[@Zachery_Jiran]

Can you imagine how bad we'll be treated if the government takes away our guns?

[@taffysaur]

“We want to make sure the customer has an agreeable experience.” But why is that the government’s business..? Shouldn’t that be the onus of the taxi company/driver?

[@aryaprincess2479]

Exactly, why don't they make a "good taxi company" and provide this service, people will choose them if they indeed are better. If someone wants to take a cheap taxi with less than good service, this is their business.

[@k999ford]

Went to DC once and the amount of regulation evident from the writing of the windows, to me, was staggering. bureaucrats, it's not that complex. Get in a Taxi and pay for the ride. It's that simple.

[@himmelblau23]

Great video. We discovered your channel a few days ago and are gradually watching all your videos. I hope this unjust bill is thrown out.

[@BV-jq2vg]

That cracked up lobbyist reminded me of Samuel L. Jackson’s “top slave” character in Django Unchained. Just trying to help “his people” lol

[@Fede_uyz]

"The new comenrs need to be squeezed out [...] because its a regulated market!" Basically i wanted it to be regulted because i like it regulated

[@iwant007]

UBER means fuck that

[@Bjorngrim74]

Love how he was proud that he was passing more laws and repealing none. The red tape grows longer every day.

[@M-David-Hakoh]

I've seen crooks before but this guy is an award winner

[@daviddavis7752]

That "medallion" was a good investment before "Uber." The price just going up and up.

[@CommanderJP001]

1:26 him: "You have to regulate" me: why?

[@AidenRKrone]

"Dis eez a reggalated mahket."

[@lawrencegenereux8567]

The way government works: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. If it stops moving, subsidize it.

[@42luke93]

0:45 Where are 1995-1997 Crown Victoria and 1994 Chevy Caprice taxis still being used?

[@Dufoth]

Wait, he just admitted to cronyism!?

[@jams4041]

The lobbyist wrote a bill is the key phrase. Politicians don't do a damn thing but lie and take money legal or illegally.

[@chipan9191]

“We want to make sure that the customer has a good riding experience...” That’s the problem with government... sticking their nose into things that are none of their business. The riding experience is only of concern between the customer and the driver... no one else should care.

[@thienphucn1]

Uber and Lyft: I'm gonna end this man's whole career

[@jamescalifornia2964]

~ In Los Angeles illegal "Gold Medallions " would be all over the place with an illegal alien driver🔑 . Nothing is safe in California 😳💰

[@edwardharley9]

I like John Stossel... he seems to be the rarity in the media .. someone with common sense....

[@scottbros6368]

That's too much FREE TRADE and is bad for the currupt businesses and corrupt politicians.....it's the same in virtually every city, county, state not even including the federal agencies which are too many to count...

[@mackcummy4976]

$775 an hour?

[@Theonegamefreak]

775 an hour. Holy shit

[@going2sleep]

I use a bicycle rentals in DC. I started with bus, than scooters, and now $8/ month good old bicycle rental. It is healthy and saves me money.

[@ryantakmik4496]

The Democratic Party used to believed in economic opportunity

[@empirestate8791]

If there's too many taxis, then fewer people will drive because fares will be lower. Its like uber - there's never too many ubers because the price hots down if more and more join. Eventually, fewer people join, and the market reaches an equilibrium quite quickly. Perfect supply and demand.

[@andrewstechlessons]

This is just sick! First, he actually admits happily he's getting 770/hr. The worst thing is I'm assuming none of it's citizens want this crap. I always thought it was "by the people, for the people" not for government, lobbiest, and beaurocrats!

[@tobeytransport2802]

London has the best system, you don’t need to be a millionaire... you need to be knowledgeable though, you have to pass a test to learn all of the streets in London so that you can drive anyone straight to their destination. If you can’t pass the test you can become a pre booked PHV

[@Shipx7]

I hate this increase in regulation, one input though is that you really shouldn't use so much editing on the lobbyists side, you should let them get a full say and then squash it with logic. I feel theres a lot left unsaid,

[@Cacowninja]

True the assholes deserve a voice too which helps reflect what assholes they are.

[@maureenburich-lynch1059]

Lyft and Uber is the way to go.

[@circusboy90210]

Maureen Burich-Lynch not on a .million yrs Uber driver earned than burger flippers

[@ayandas874]

At least Uber and Lyft pays a much higher percentage of business to the car owner than these regulators. It almost makes the person a partial entrepreneur. What would happen eventually is that multiple companies will compete for the same space, and thus drivers can get higher and higher percentage of the money they earned, and that is exactly what happened in India in my city Kolkata, which is ironic considering the fact that the current head of province/state portrays herself as a hardcore socialist, but anti communist. We have a far higher number of options than you Americans have, and even the taxi union has decided to innovate in order to compete. They get around 60% of the fare here. People even leave their engineering jobs to be a uber driver.

[@dougsmith6262]

It's hard to go back to taxis once you've tried Uber/Lyft. The vehicles are cleaner, the drivers are cleaner, and the prices are comparable.

[@thefreeman8791]

When Uber tried to come to my city the city forbade them from coming into the city because the cabbies threw a fit. Uber threatened to sue so they backed off and now we have Uber and Lyft and all that. They did not want the competition but they got it.

[@tylerl4320]

that has to be the worst attempt at an argument I have ever seen. “We have to keep newcomers out,” why? “Because we should,”

[@andrewbittle1766]

Anyone with a car in NYC can be a cab driver. Gypsy,Uber etc

[@sumvs5992]

Government: If we just make it harder for people to enter the market, poverty will go down!

[@HVACSoldier]

The high end taxi companies are edging out the “little guy.”

[@stevecarlson9557]

I'd like to see the kickbacks to the politicians. Smells to high heavens.

[@CGR89]

Now that the green cabs and uber/lyft are all over NYC the city’s been flooded with cabs, no one’s making money any more. The price of medallions has crashed and none of the drivers are making a living wage.

[@lvteachme973]

I despise lobbyist. They should be outlawed. The little guy/gal cannot even start small businesses.

[@BADD1ONE]

There is no such thing as capitalism when our elected officials profit from corporate lobbyists

[@pauld.b7129]

770 an hour?! No wonder our country is broke and in debt. These "public servants" are bleeding us dry.

[@planetx5269]

The thing that needs regulated most is lawyers; the number of them and the amount they can make. They are a plague on humanity.

[@og1689]

THIS Walter Washington, the accountant, is a PATRIOT!

[@canhou9420]

If you think this is bad, you should see what they do in Japan. The government there mandates that all public transport shut by around 11-12 in the night to protect the taxi industry. The result is sky high taxi price, no public transport home if you’re working late (as most Japanese salarymen are) and it contributes to the human sardine can overcrowding in the metro system during active hours

[@unalienable5408]

Politicians should have to buy a medallion, $ a million to be a politician

[@nuisancetosociety]

Rest in Peace Walter Williams. Thanks to him for helping clear up what bull that was shoved in my face when I was in school.

[@vesna639]

The taxi barons are a real thing - they FORCE people out of business so they can have a monopoly - just like the game monopoly. Many of us have driven cab at some point and know this, and the older ones remember when they went from earning a decent living in the 90's of clearing around $600 a week, & having regular customers, to the monopolizers coming in and incomes plummeting to barely scraping by. I know of one of these monopolizers who couldn't resist ripping off everybody he could including mechanics in town, AND although his vehicles always managed to pass inspections, they were death traps, and although he thankfully survived & the case was never solved, one day 6 masked guys followed him home and each one shot him. Whatever he did to them must have been pretty bad! The thing is, with people like this taking over (and that includes "uber") they hire desperate people who will work for next to nothing - I've been in cabs with drivers like that, many of whom were driving illegally & whose existence was so miserable that they'd do things (yes this happened) like decide at the last second to dash across railroad tracks when a train was coming. Happened to four of us who caught a cab at Miami airport. The train barely missed the back of the cab and the driver couldn't have cared less.

[@SK-hm3ze]

Certain areas should be regulated by government. When tourist come to NYC, taxi is a the first thing they see. Therefore there should be standard fare and some uniform rules. After all states and cities are allowed to regulate commerce within the state.

[@wsfd4321]

How about we start selling medallions to be in public office?? The price should double every year to squeeze out the folks who want to make a career off the taxpayer!!

[@daystar3886]

" but don't hustle me"..👏. The ploitician speaking admits to being a lobbyist & how much he's paid an hour. At least he's honest & upfront about it. In that sense he has to be one of the most honest politicians I've ever heard! Admitting you have a problem is the first step - AA. Admitting you are a crook & corrupt is the first step to recovery & being kicked out of office - American taxpayer. No more office, no more corruption, problem solved. Recovery achieved 😀

[@hbarudi]

That explains why taxis in the US are so expensive and charge a price that send most people to the bmv and car dealer.

[@TheRisky9]

"There's too many taxies" is the dumbest argument I have ever heard. So what? Make it easy to do something else, they'll do something else. They'll open a food cart or something. It's easy to open a food cart in Ohio and we have food cart fairs. They're pretty awesome and we're able to do festivals in more areas without food services. So too many of something isn't always bad

[@aryaprincess2479]

He doesn't need to do anything at all actually, if people get a taxi business it means there is a request for their services. If there was too many taxis, then many taxi drivers would quit it and it would self regulate. This is how organic free market works.

[@TheRisky9]

@@aryaprincess2479 Exactly. And that's why you need to make it easy to do other things. So people will naturally spread out into areas of need. If we need a new moving service, but it's too expensive to start, then that won't be a need that is fulfilled.

[@-Anon-Ymous]

03:33 🤣🤣🤣

[@Barskor1]

“Everyone wants to live at the expense of the state. They forget that the state lives at the expense of everyone.” ― Frédéric Bastiat “When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in a society, over the course of time they create for themselves a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it.” ― Frédéric Bastiat

[@Isa-ih5qo]

Im so sick of this. Your making me cry

[@dewaynemiguel3349]

Government regulation ruins every buisness it touches i drove truck 42 years iim glad im retired because over regulation has ruined trucking

[@anthonyroberts2678]

Absolutely!!!

[@ioanpena]

Now medalions worth their weight in toilet paper as it should !!!

[@lc9245]

I remember reading about the Taxi king of New York, Gene Freidman. I came across his story from GTA4 of all places, after getting curious about the taxi business in NY. He was a Russian immigrant, and an interesting American success story. After inheriting his father business, and with a background in finance, he expanded his fleet by borrowing and winning auction to control the medallions. As you have seen, the nature of the taxi medallions turned the taxi business into a mini economy, a game facilitated by government mandate. Unfortunately for him, of course, Uber was invented, up ended his business and he got into legal trouble over fees. He ended up having to filed for bankruptcy for his company, and died this year. While his business practice might have been pretty shady, he was merely an entrepreneur who figured out a clever way to expand the business. He merely played the game that the government created. I can't help but admire him, an immigrant who rose to power through entrepreneurship, and sunk by the very same entrepreneurship spirit of America.

[@josedorsaith5261]

Freidman... Schafer.... I'm noticing a pattern, here

[@smajet5640]

"You have to regalate." Sure...

[@fusto26]

Medallions are surely a gimmick to create bottlenecks. However, where I live here in Italy (to my knowledge) taxi drivers aren't employed by big taxi companies and most of them work their ass off to eventually buy the licence. If we got rid of licencing restrictions-as we ought to- shouldn't people who have just invested in buying one receive some compensation?

[@donbrock7675]

The reason organized crime has all but vanished is they can do the same activities now legally, like the government does. Big money equals big power.

[@AlE-yq2vu]

I’m with the gubment and I’m here to help

[@michaelanderson8464]

keep pushing the working man around

[@wardochurchfan9166]

RIP Walter Williams

[@diydiva3190]

I once needed a cab in DC - I usually drive - and was forced to ride share! Being from NYC I was like whoa, wait, I HAVE to share with strangers???? May as well take the bus.

[@dougsmith6262]

Those two guys were the most life-like puppets I've ever seen. You can't even see their strings! We got too many old money career legislators in DC that have never had a real job, and therefore have zero insight into how all their grand ideas actually affect those that work for a living. And why try to mandate that everyone have a pleasant taxi experience? Do they not think taxi companies will know to do that on their own? If your taxi looks like this, smells like shit, and you treat your customers like shit, then you'll shitty profits.

[@mikemiller9119]

I really wish there was more to these stories. You ask the questions, they answer them with a smug smile and their conversation ends at the end of this 6 minute video.

[@FS28_]

You can tell that lobbyist got that F-U money 😂 That guy has to have stacks to just tell the whole scam and not worry about the consequences

[@douwehuysmans5959]

That's insane

[@TheRoark85]

Before Uber an equivalent to a medallion here in Victoria, Australia was around $500,000, after uber it dropped to around $30,000 lol

[@LittleHatori]

Wow... a young Thomas Sowell

[@satinwhip]

Never trust anyone who is lecturing you about regulations and cannot pronounce the word "regulate".

[@jasonfischer8946]

That lobbyist is arguing in circles and doing it very poorly. He gets paid $774/hr too much.

[@TinkerTailorSoldier1]

Jason Fischer He seems drunk as well... I think I could do his job & I’ll take half the money.

[@indobalkanizer6557]

Taxi monopolies makes lovely places like Goa terrible, it kills the very purpose of tourism which is leisure.

[@fubarexress6359]

Dude lost me when he said "you have to regulate." No sir. You don't have to. You want to. Don't placate me and Tru and tell me you care about the customer experience.

[@ruzzelladrian907]

The medallion's value was artificial. Those taxi drivers should've just put money in an investment. Now they're in a bad financial situation because many of them took out loans using the medallion as collateral.

[@themanycolorbeast7440]

Jon you need to make one of these "Illegal everything" videos about drugs.

[@silverscalederg8632]

Damn where do I get a job as a lobbyist?

[@yungmalaria]

This dude straight up on camera admitted getting paid to lie lmao

[@TylerDurden-oy2hm]

What are they thinking?if it ain't broke give it a hit or two so it IS broke?they must hate it when things run smoothly and harmoniously

[@prepordietryin9119]

These people are truly scumbags. One day when the entire system falls I wouldn't want to be these people who are stepping on the backs of everyone trying to make a living.

[@peteremwells]

This was made in 2016? When the price of NYC medallions were probably starting to decline? I’m curious if this still has come up. NYC failed to protect its medallion owners, probably couldn’t.

[@DaveM86]

"According to historian Graham Russell Gao Hodges, author of the book “Taxi! A Social History of the New York City Cabdriver,” after the passage of the Haas Act, “no one expected the medallions to ever be worth more than the ten-dollar license fee.” By 1950, the medallions cost $5,000 on average. This price continued to rise up until 2014 when a medallion cost $ 1.3 million dollars. Afterwards, prices dropped and many of those who bought medallions at high prices, are now paying debts that average ranging between $500,000 and $600,000 dollars. Currently, the price of a taxi medallion ranges between $120,000 and $150,000."

[@cezargarcia6651]

Whatever it's called, it's called control and making it harder for everyone to make a living and be in business for themselves. If taxi drivers own their cab and in business for themselves, wouldn't they take care of their business more?

[@ryderpaskevich857]

"too many taxi cabs" ???? Dudes clearly never tried to hail a cab in any major city

[@josephsarto689]

Thi little guy should be squeezed out But why? Because this is a reg-a-lated industry I get that he can’t say “because I’m a lobbyist who’s getting paid $775 an hour to squeeze the little guy out” but come on, “this is a regalated” is all he could come up with? Lol

[@fsirjyy147]

They really need to get rid of lobbyists. No company should have any influence in the laws that are made. Outside of just down there and voting themselves as individuals . Yes they can give campaign donations, but if any politician is caught taking bribes to change the law, then that politician should be punished in my opinion. But Basically I am saying we need get government out of businesses as much as possible unless the people running the owners of the company are violating other peoples right to life liberty and property, but we also need get businesses out of Washington.

[@Medic_312]

Micheal brown: *smug smirk* "we have passed many bills we have been very active" all proud of how many times he's bent over to pass unfair unlawful bills.

[@josedorsaith5261]

They're just the mask for Scaeffer

[@Dog.soldier1950]

Stealing the bread off the working mans plate🤨