Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Seattle-ites too stupid

To be allowed to choose for themselves how to get from point A to point B, thinks a majority of the Seattle City Council;
The Seattle City Council has voted to cap and regulate popular, rapidly expanding ride share services such as Lyft, Sidecar and UberX, in what is likely a temporary victory for the Emerald City’s beleaguered, much-criticized taxicab industry.
The unanimous vote came Monday after the Council, on a 6-3 vote, rejected efforts to lift a controversial limit of 150 drivers per company on the road at any given time of day.
The council was palpably nervous and defensive as it adopted the regulatory regime. The so-called “Transportation Network Companies” (TNC’s) have gained wide public support in a city that is getting younger, with an economy that is fueled by technology and innovation.
Which caused some innovative straddling from Seattle's favorite socialist (and N.C. State Phd), Kshama Sawant;
“We need to fight for a real expansion of public transportation paid for by taxes on big corporations and the rich,” she argued.
Apparently pretending to be unaware that Seattle's taxicab industry is dominated by corporations. Maybe Ms. Sawant--whose husband is a Microsoft computer engineer--should listen to her colleague, Councilman Tom Rasmussen;
“This must be a wake up call to the taxi industry. The taxi industry must change in order to thrive.” ....“They [UberX, Lyft, Sidecar] are incredibly successful. We should be encouraging innovation and not erecting obstacles,” said Rasmussen as he tried to lift the 150 limit. “Seattle clearly wants quality transportation choices. Let’s listen to what the public is saying. Let’s not cut the supply when demand is so high.” 
Supply and demand. They didn't teach that in the Phd program that awarded Ms. Sawant her degree? (We have it on good authority that they do.)

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