“Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”
– Ronald Reagan

Almost EVERY elected “conservative” has responded erroneously to the Uber phenomenon.

Uber, et al – like many ideas before it – is not only innovative, it is a free market response to an over-regulated, over-taxed service that has managed to only thrive in a free market economy: the venerable taxi cab.

If you are reading this in New York City, D.C., or some other high population density urban area, you might have a different take. Here in fly-over country, the taxi is the stuff of biz travelers, vacationers, or to get you to the liquor store when your license has been suspended.

Oklahoma City, for example, is slightly smaller than Los Angeles when talking square miles. But the entire population of the Sooner State is less than that of the greater Dallas-Ft. Worth metro. Thus, taxis are not as “crucial” to the masses in my town as larger population centers. Add to this that metro transit busses are virtually nonexistent in the outlying suburbs of OKC, and one cab fare from Will Rogers Airport to Edmond would require monthly payments, and you have an equation for… Uber, et al.

So, what do the supposedly “conservative” elected officials do?

They tax, regulate, and (when the taxis start to fade into history) subsidize. In other words, government as usual.

Here was a chance for adherents to free-market principles, and actual FREEDOM itself to be championed by those who have run against “big gubmint” to voted into office by we gullible proles.

I can’t tell you how many times someone I know – or even I, myself – has offered to pay for gas to someone who can afford me a ride. Guess what? There were no taxes, no regulation, no licenses (except for a driver’s license that now even illegal aliens can get in some states).

In the past, Oklahoma has been a place where pioneers have pumped oil, conquered air and space, and even brought to the world the humble but indispensable shopping cart ands thus changed the country and the world. What if Sylvan Goldman (the “G” in T.G.&Y.) had introduced the shopping cart today? Would these same “conservative, small government, free-market conservatives” bend to the “hand basket lobby” and regulate to the death his new innovation?

Probably. But that’s what passes for conservatism in the Great Red State these days.

The correct response to the Uber innovation amidst complaints of unfairness from Big Taxi should NOT be to equally regulate and tax Uber, et al, but to DE-reg and LOWER taxes and fees currently imposed on taxi companies.

Return us to the “land of the free.”

Reido