Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Elizabeth Warren: Uber Hater

She hates the fact that Uber attempts to breakdown government regulatory barriers.

Jared Mayer explains:
At a‎ speech at the New America Foundation's annual conference on May 19, Warren argued, "For many, the gig economy is simply the next step in a losing effort to build some economic security in a world where all the benefits are floating to the top 10 percent."

At some points Warren did seem to praise ridesharing for offering "more rides, cheaper rides, and shorter wait times." She also laid out the regulatory barriers that cartelize most taxi markets and create vast inefficiencies.

However, immediately after pointing out the many consumer benefits of this innovative business model, Warren ended her temporary cease fire by pointing to Uber's and Lyft's recent exit from Austin, Texas over the city's fingerprint background check requirements. She said, "[Uber and Lyft fight] against local rules designed to create a level playing field between themselves and their taxi competitors."

What Warren and other critics of the sharing economy cannot seem to comprehend is that there are two ways to "level the playing field." One is by extending antiquated, anti-competitive regulations to new technologies. The other—and far better—option is to remove these barriers so that legacy business models can adapt to new competition.
-RW

2 comments:

  1. Reminds me of the Supreme Court ruling in the antitrust case against AlCOA.
    The Court first praises ALCOA's business acumen and other qualities that allowed it to dominate the aluminum industry and then uses those same qualities to condemn ALCOA for monopolizing the industry and violating Sherman Antitrust Act.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The question never asked: Why is force needed?

    If the additional "security" measures the State is requiring are a benefit to and recognized as such by customers, why is force needed? In a free market, companies that implement security measures that the market desires should attract more customers and or be able to charge more than competitors that do not implement the additional security measures (all other things being equal).

    Most people must just assume that the masses need protection form capitalist by the State.

    ReplyDelete