When politicians and bureaucrats pushing regulation to protect politically connected incumbent businesses, they usually at least prtend it has something to do with public safety, consumer protection, or the environment. But not in Portland, where the government is pushing minimum-fare rules and other laws to constrain town-cars from competing with the cabbie cartel:
This Portland story, from the Huffington Post’s J.L. Greene is well worth a read It’s pretty brutal:
Fiesta Limo and Pacific Cascade declined to comment, citing possible legal action.
While my friend Mark Hemingway might suggest that this sort of Big Government insanity is a symptom of Portland’s uniquely pernicious ways, cabbie-cartel regulatory robbery shows up all over the place.
D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray, elected with the full backing of the cabbies and nearly every other incumbent special interest in Washington, has been working to protect cabbies from competition, Megan McArdle reported recently in the Atlantic. Barton Hinkle at Reason magazine also wrote on D.C.’s war on competition. [I seem to recall a story about a cop conducting a taxi cab sting by letting people offer her a ride home, and then asking “how much do I owe you?” but I can’t find the story.]
There’s nothing unique about cabs. Across the whole economy, industry incumbents seek protection by means of regulation.
- Mattel, the world’s largest toymaker, supported strict new federal toy-safety regulations
- Philip Morris, the world’s largest tobacco company, supported strict new federal tobacco regulation.
- Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest non-government employer, supported a higher minimum wage and an employer-mandate in health insurance.
- GE supported strict efficiency standards on light-bulbs.
- Nike supported climate-change rules that crush its smaller competitors who actually make things in the U.S.
- H&R Block supported new IRS regulations on tax preparers.
- Big food producers supported new food-safety regulations.
- The financial planning industry group called for more federal regulation of financial planning.
- Hedge-fund giant Jim Chanos advocated federal registration of hedge funds.
- The American Bankers Association applauded new federal credit-card regulations.
- The big trucking companies supported new trucking regulations
