Why are pro-regulation liberals opposed to government intervention when it comes to ride-hailing darlings Uber and Lyft?
The Washington Post reports on a new study by Pew that finds that Uber and Lyft users tend to be young, urban and left-leaning. And yet, though these young liberals are, in general, in favor of robust government regulation, they are opposed to new regulations on their favorite taxi-replacing apps: “Despite their typical embrace of regulation,” the Post writes, “Democratic users of the services are much more likely than not to oppose taxi-like regulations for the apps.”
So what gives?
Here’s how the Post tries to explain the disconnect: “That may be because most users see Uber and Lyft as software companies as opposed to transportation companies and two-thirds view drivers as independent contractors as opposed to employees.”
Really? I doubt very much that many Uber users base their views on technical reasons such as whether the new-fangled firm is a software or transportation company. Far more plausible is the simpler and more obvious explanation: Young liberals who Uber are opposed to regulations on it because they like the service, thank you very much. They realize regulation would dramatically limit ride-hailing, or even kill it.
In other words, young liberals like regulation, but only so long as it doesn’t inconvenience them. One could needle them for hypocrisy, but instead I think this just suggests that opponents of regulation need to do a better job of showing the young and liberal how government intervention in markets limits their choices, costs them money, and is just, well, uncool.
