We wrote a couple weeks ago about Little Rock City Director Joan Adcock’s ongoing crusade to ban (or regulate out of existence) innovative ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft that may soon be operating in Little Rock.
Our friends at the Center for Local Governance at the Texas Public Policy Foundation recently released a video about one Detroit driver who used her employment by a ride-sharing service to avoid going on welfare. Take a look!
The Board of Directors was scheduled to discuss Uber/Lyft regulations on Tuesday night but never got around to it. They’re expected to take the issue back up later this month. When new services like Uber and Lyft begin operating, there is sometimes a dangerous tendency by some elected officials to look only at the costs springing from lost business that are imposed on existing taxi companies. However, it would be better if lawmakers also looked at the unseen future benefits — for instance, the benefits to consumers, who will have more lower-priced options, and the benefits to new businesses and employees, like future drivers like Miiha. Here’s some recommended reading on what is seen and what is not seen. If Little Rock wants the unflattering distinction of being less free and more closed to innovation, then its Board of Directors should follow Adcock’s lead — but if the Board wants to open up new job opportunities and consumer options outside the current taxi monopoly, Little Rock government would do well to ignore her concerns.
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