Technology Beats Government

The rent seekers in Washington, DC are howling because the licenses they paid so much for have dropped in value by a considerable amount and may ultimately be worth less than the paper they are printed on. The ink used for the signatures may be worth more.

In a victory for smartphone app Uber, the D.C. City Council on Tuesday shelved a proposal that would have set a minimum fare for the luxury car service.

The amendment authored by D.C. councilmember Mary Cheh would have established a price floor that required Uber to set its minimum fare at no less than five times the base price used for taxis.

Cheh made the abrupt decision to put aside the amendment after receiving pushback from Uber and other members of the City Council.

Uber argued that the proposal would have prevented its car service from being an alternative to taxis in D.C. and the council’s intention was to safeguard the city’s taxi industry. The current minimum fare for Uber is $15.

The San Francisco-based company’s fight against the amendment got a boost when Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) tweeted his opposition to the proposal.

Smart phone applications and tweets. This is a world the government never expected. I had an inkling when the First Mate and I made Support the Revolution – Buy A Computer T-shirts back in the late 70s. (note: in the interim LGF has become an idiotatarian – no one is immune from stupidity). Here is another post on our T-shirt project.