Services like Uber and AirB&B are working so well, that the Government has decided to fix them.
Anyone who has ever sat in the back of a stinky cab, or checked into a bedbug infested motel appreciates the new economy. Internet and mobile applications have made it possible to avoid these traditional stalwarts of the travel industry, and save a little money in the process.
Voluntary exchanges have made Uber the new nationwide decentralized taxi service, and AirB&B has given home owners around the world the ability to become hoteliers. It’s perfect capitalism. I have a car and some free time, you have some money, and need a ride. Meanwhile that spare bedroom can generate a little income, and the car pays for itself. What could be more perfect than voluntary exchanges between two willing participants?
But Bureaucrats see this as a problem. They think that unless you’ve attended the Kennedy School of Government, you’re probably incapable of making these choices. So it’s time for them to step in and assist you.
According to FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez:
“targeted regulatory measures may be needed to ensure that these new business models have appropriate consumer protections; ”
Absent the fact that those silly pink mustaches probably need to be regulated, why would she do that? Before you check in, you can see what other people have said about the room. Before you get picked up, you get a picture of the driver, so if he looks creepy, you can request someone else. Right now Uber is recruiting woman drivers, because they’ve learned that other women find it more comfortable.
They’re self-regulating. If the driver has so much as a cross word with you, Uber gets to hear about it. And if your house is a dump, so does AirB&B. (I’ve often wondered how many people did not realize they were hoarders until they started reading the reviews of their place.)
Regulations don’t really prevent nasty cabs or hotel rooms. We’ve all been in enough to attest to that. Neither do they prevent you from getting stranded and missing a flight, or sitting in the lobby until your room is ready. All these regulations do, is make it difficult for mom and pop businesses to operate, and create more sweet government jobs for the kind of people who enjoy being regulators.
In the stagnant economy of the past decade, services like AirB&B and Uber are high points. Not only are they part of the California Silicon Revolution that has literally been keeping the entire State afloat, they’ve also created thousands of new entrepreneurs all over the country.
Much like nature abhors a vacuum, government can’t stand something operating all by itself. As George Bailey once said: “I know very well what you’re talking about. You’re talking about something you can’t get your fingers on, and it’s galling you.“
So enjoy them while they last.