Original post date: October 10, 2014 Article by: Ben Douglas Uber CEO Travis Kalanick recently released his vision for the future, touting “a million fewer cars on the road,” along with reduced congestion, emissions, and DUIs. If this vision is realized, in combination with an aging driving demographic and the rise of driverless cars, it … Continue reading The Changing Landscape of Urban Transportation
Taxi Regulation Reduces Driver Opportunity
Original post date: September 30, 2014 Article by: Ben Douglas For decades, state and local governments have imposed dramatic entry controls on the taxi industry across the United States. These regulatory hurdles benefit established companies at the expense of drivers. Many cities issue "medallions," a permit that grants its owner the legal right the right … Continue reading Taxi Regulation Reduces Driver Opportunity
Do UberX Driveres Really Earn Three Times More than Taxi Drivers?
Original post date: September 16, 2014 Article by: Ben Douglas In May, Uber revealed annual median incomes for UberX drivers in New York and San Francisco of $90,766 and $74,191, respectively. In contrast, 2013 median annual taxi driver incomes in New York and San Francisco are $29,910 and $28,060 according to the Bureau of Labor … Continue reading Do UberX Driveres Really Earn Three Times More than Taxi Drivers?
Uber Wars Transcend Party Lines
Original post date: September 08, 2014 Article by: Ben Douglas 6/8/2023 Edits: Some links that were no longer working have been fixed. High-ranking Republican officials have recently come out in support of Uber, the innovative but legally-troubled ridesharing app that connects drivers and passengers. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus penned an op-ed in the … Continue reading Uber Wars Transcend Party Lines
The Two Kinds of Capitalism
Original post date: February 12, 2014 Article by: Ben Douglas 6/7/2023 Edits: Some links that were no longer working have been fixed. The term “capitalism” is often thrown around in American political discourse without a specified or coherent meaning. Frequently in a debate, opposing parties will attack or defend their own perceived ideas of what … Continue reading The Two Kinds of Capitalism
Why do Workers Support The Minimum Wage?
Original post date: February 03, 2014 Article by: Ben Douglas One of the more peculiar political phenomena of our time is the widespread support of minimum wage laws among unskilled labor, particularly service workers in low-wage industries such as hotels, restaurants, and retail shops. This is likely to increase with President Obama’s push to increase … Continue reading Why do Workers Support The Minimum Wage?
Transit as an Inferior Good
Original post date: November 25, 2013 Article by: Ben Douglas 6/6/2023 Edits: Some links that were no longer working have been fixed. Mass transit is frequently accompanied by mass-subsidization, cartelization, and monopolies. This chronic need for artificial support might be an indication of its inherent inferiority as an economically valued good or service. If consumers … Continue reading Transit as an Inferior Good
Customers Rise Up to Support Taxi Innovator
Original post date: November 19, 2013 Article by: Ben Douglas 6/6/2023 Edits: Some links that were no longer working have been fixed. Finding a more textbook example of regulatory capture than the taxicab industry is difficult, as the case of the innovative on-demand taxi service Uber clearly demonstrates. Despite the highly regulated nature of the … Continue reading Customers Rise Up to Support Taxi Innovator
Entrenched Interests Fight Innovation in Taxi Industry
Original post date: November 19, 2013 Article by: Ben Douglas 5/24/2023 Edits: Some links that were no longer working have been fixed. A revolutionary new smartphone app is changing the nature of the taxicab business, but stiff opposition from entrenched taxi companies risks keeping their innovations from benefiting customers. Uber is a venture-capital funded startup … Continue reading Entrenched Interests Fight Innovation in Taxi Industry
Go Green, Don’t Expand Transit
Original post date: November 04, 2013 Article by: Ben Douglas The careful application of economics to policy reveals a host of ironies. Minimum wages create unemployment among the very unskilled laborers policymakers intend to help. Rent control destroys housing in the very cities it is intended to save. Adam Smith’s entire concept of an “invisible hand,” … Continue reading Go Green, Don’t Expand Transit