THE SUMTER ITEM N.G. Osteen 1843-1936 The Watchman and Southron
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2015 H.G. Osteen 1870-1955 Founder, The Item
H.D. Osteen 1904-1987 The Item
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Margaret W. Osteen 1908-1996 The Item Hubert D. Osteen Jr. Chairman & Editor-in-Chief Graham Osteen Co-President Kyle Osteen Co-President Jack Osteen Editor and Publisher Larry Miller CEO Rick Carpenter Managing Editor
20 N. Magnolia St., Sumter, South Carolina 29150 • Founded October 15, 1894
The struggle for economic liberty
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ere’s my taxi question: If a person is law-abiding, has a driver’s license, has a car or van that has passed safety inspection and has adequate liability insurance, is there any consumer-oriented reason he should not be able to become a taxicab owner/ operator? Put another way: If you wish to hire the services of such a person, what right does a third party have to prevent that exchange? Many cities have granted monopoly power to taxi companies — the right to prevent entry by others. Sometimes this monopoly takes the form of exclusive government-granted rights to particular individuals to provide taxi services. In Walter other cases, Williams the number of licenses is fixed and a prospective taxi owner must purchase a license from an existing owner. In New York City, such a license is called a taxi medallion. Individual medallions have sold for as high as $700,000 and corporate medallions as high as $1 million. In other cities, such as Miami, Philadelphia, Chicago and Boston, taxi licenses have sold for anywhere between $300,000 and $700,000. These are prices for a license to own and operate a single vehicle as a taxi. Where public utility commissions decide who will have the right to go into the taxi business, a prospective entrant must apply for a “certificate of public convenience and necessity.” Lawyers for the incumbent taxi owners, most often corporate owners or owner associations, appear at the hearing to argue that there is no necessity or public convenience that would be served by permitting a new entrant. Where medallions are sold, the person must have cash or the credit standing to be able to get a loan from a lender, such as the Medallion Financial Corp., that specializes in taxi medallion purchases. Medallion Financial Corp. has held as much as $520 million in loans for taxi medallions. So what are the effects of taxi regulation? When a person must make the case for his entry before a public utility commission, who is likelier to win, a single individual with limited resources or incum-
COMMENTARY bent taxi companies with corporate lawyers representing them? I’d put my money on the incumbent taxi companies being able to use the public utility commission to keep the wannabes out. Who is handicapped in the cases in which one has to purchase a $700,000 medallion in order to own and operate a taxi? If you answered “a person who doesn’t have $700,000 lying around or doesn’t have the credit to get a loan for $700,000,” go to the head of the class. A natural question is: Who are the people least likely to be able to compete with corporate lawyers or have $700,000 lying around or have good enough credit to get such a loan? They are low- and moderate-income people and minorities. Many own cars and have the means to get into the taxi business and earn between $40,000 and $50,000 annually, but they can’t overcome the regulatory hurdle. Enter Uber and Lyft, two ride-hailing services. Both companies use freelance contractors who provide rides with their own cars. The companies operate mobile applications that allow customers with smartphones to submit trip requests, which are then routed to Uber or Lyft drivers, who provide taxi-like services with their own cars. The legality of these companies has been challenged by taxi companies and politicians who do the bidding of established taxi companies. They allege that the use of drivers who are not licensed to drive taxicabs is unsafe and illegal. Uber and Lyft drivers like the idea of working when they want to. Some have full-time jobs. Picking up passengers is an easy way to earn extra money. Everyone is happy about the arrangement except existing taxi companies and government officials who do their bidding. Taxi companies retain much of their monopoly because Uber and Lyft are prohibited from cruising. They are also prohibited from picking up passengers at most train stations and airports. But that monopoly may not last much longer. Let’s hope not. Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University. To find out more about Walter E. Williams, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. © 2015 creators.com.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR 2ND AMENDMENT REASON OTHER FREEDOMS EXIST It was sad and shocking to read the comments on the Opinion page this past week of one who expressed much contempt for our American Constitution. He probably does not consider that his very right to vent his abhorrence for the Second Amendment was gained by citizens exercising its principle (i.e. citizens with the freedom to use their guns in defense). His reasoning should also have him campaigning against fuel and fire starters (matches, lighters, etc.) due to the fact of a massacre of 87 people in March, 1990, (Happy Land Disco, Bronx, New York) by a man with a can of gasoline. It is a gross offense to imply that the Second Amendment
is the cause of mass murder in this country. If it were not for this natural right, this country would be a lot worse than what it presently is. The ignorant should compare the violence of cities with the most stringent gun controls with those who recognize our God-given right to defend ourselves. The people who hate the Second Amendment are (1) criminals and (2) those who hate people who want to defend ourselves against criminals. Incidentally, the countries that don’t have the Second Amendment right wonder what their excuse is for mass murders? Perhaps those who abhor our Constitution should consider moving somewhere without it. RON WILSON Sumter
NOTABLE AND QUOTABLE
Keep asking ‘Why not Sumter?’ In “‘Why not Sumter?’ CEO of Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce shares his ideas,” The Sumter Item’s Konstantin Vengerowsky reports on a speech this week by the Sumter Chamber’s new CEO, Chris Hardy, to the Sumter Monday Rotary Club. Read it online at www.theitem.com: “We have to ask the question ourselves, ‘Why Sumter?’, why people or potential businesses would want to relocate here,” Hardy said. “There are a lot of things in our area we can be proud of. We’re going to expand on the things that have been going well and try to do some things new that’s going to move us forward in the future.” Hardy said there’s a lot of growth potential for the Chamber, and the organization will immediately start working on recruiting additional members. “I want us to be as inclusive as we possibly can be as an organization,” he said. “It does not matter what type of business it is. If you provide an economic impact to the community, you deserve the assistance of the Chamber. There’s only one color in business, and that’s green.” Successful collaboration was one of the major topics he discussed. That includes the relationship between various organizations such as the Chamber, economic development commission, the commission of visitors bureau, local government and education, he said. “Good collaboration makes our jobs a lot easier,” he said. Hardy said there are going to be some new things the Chamber has not done before. “I promise you, everything we do that we initiate is for the best; there’s a reason behind everything,” he said. He said one of those things includes providing videos in the future, with a primary focus of promoting members more. “Sumter’s already on the business map, we just want to make it bigger,” he said. “’Why not Sumter?’ That’s the question we always have to continue asking ourselves.”
masky writes, “You thought Clinton-Obama 2008 was bad? Wait until a white guy steps in a woman’s path and attacks her integrity.” Read it online at www.dailybeast.com: You’ve got to admit it was kind of a stroke of genius for Joe Biden to have that “secret” meeting with Elizabeth Warren over the weekend. The mind of course jumps instantly to the prospect of a Biden-Warren ticket, even to the idea that Biden could, when announcing his candidacy say next month, also announce that Warren will be his running mate. Game-changer is a hoary expression in this town, so forgive me, but that really would be one. I’d guess Biden would go instantly from his current 13 percent to at least twice that. His ego would have to adjust to having a running mate who is more beloved than he is and who draws crowds about four or five times the size of his. But even something short of an official alliance, a nudge-wink implication that Warren is somehow on team Biden, makes him a much more serious player. The media would be rooting for and trying to foment Democratic chaos every step of the way. Of 2008, I do think it’s fair to say that the press liked Obama and kinda wanted to see him win. “America Elects First Black President” was the best of the possible story lines on offer and it made (most) people feel good about the country. Well, today, the media want to see Clinton lose, it’s pretty obvious, and so they’d do everything they could to promote Biden and turn the campaign into allout war. And in contrast, the press likes Biden, and reporters will cut him lots of slack and lash into her for daring to attack Biden after the personal tragedy he’s suffered.
NOT YOUR GRANDPARENTS’ CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
HILLARY V. BIDEN: THINGS COULD GET UGLY
In The Washington Post, Barbara Reynolds writes, “I was a civil rights activist in the 1960s. But it’s hard for me to get behind Black Lives Matter.” Read it online at www.washingtonpost.com:
In “Hillary vs. Biden Would Get Ugly Fast,” the Daily Beast’s Michael To-
As the rapper Tef Poe sharply pointed out at a St. Louis rally in October pro-
testing the death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.: “This ain’t your grandparents’ civil rights movement.” He’s right. It looks, sounds and feels different. Black Lives Matter is a motley-looking group to this septuagenarian grandmother, an activist in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Many in my crowd admire the cause and courage of these young activists but fundamentally disagree with their approach. Trained in the tradition of Martin Luther King Jr., we were nonviolent activists who won hearts by conveying respectability and changed laws by delivering a message of love and unity. BLM seems intent on rejecting our proven methods. This movement is ignoring what our history has taught. The baby boomers who drove the success of the civil rights movement want to get behind Black Lives Matter, but the group’s confrontational and divisive tactics make it difficult. In the 1960s, activists confronted white mobs and police with dignity and decorum, sometimes dressing in church clothes and kneeling in prayer during protests to make a clear distinction between who was evil and who was good. But at protests today, it is difficult to distinguish legitimate activists from the mob actors who burn and loot. The demonstrations are peppered with hate speech, profanity, and guys with sagging pants that show their underwear. Even if the BLM activists aren’t the ones participating in the boorish language and dress, neither are they condemning it. The 1960s movement also had an innate respectability because our leaders often were heads of the black church, as well. Unfortunately, church and spirituality are not high priorities for Black Lives Matter, and the ethics of love, forgiveness and reconciliation that empowered black leaders such as King and Nelson Mandela in their successful quests to win over their oppressors are missing from this movement. Notable & Quotable is compiled by Graham Osteen. Reach him at graham@ theitem.com.
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