Uber and Gay Marriage

The hypocrisy runs deep. Liberals want anyone to be able to share a marriage but oppose consenting adults sharing a ride (Uber) or sharing an apartment (Airbnb).

Uber and Gay Marriage
By: George Noga – October 16, 2016

       The poster child for the sharing economy is Uber Technologies, Inc. but there are many others including Airbnb, Lyft and TaskRabbit. Sharing increases productivity via leveraging underused resources and labor; it has become wildly popular by providing platforms for people to exchange goods and services. Customers save big bucks while Uber drivers make $15 to $30 an hour and Airbnb hosts up to $30,000 a year.

     Customers log on to Uber; instantly their location and profile (name, photo, rating) are sent to nearby Uber drivers. The assigned driver transmits location, automobile, name, photo, rating and fare to the customer, who can track the Uber car in real time. In minutes the customer is in a spotless recent model car with complimentary bottled water. Payment via preestablished credit card is 50% to 65% less than a taxi. Drivers and customers rate each other; every incentive is in place for a favorable experience.

     Compare this to many taxi experiences. You call a harried dispatcher who can’t tell you when a cab will arrive or the fare. The cab arrives 25 minutes later and the driver is unkempt, speaks poor English, speeds and drives aggressively. The taxi has a musty odor and the radio is blaring obscene music in a strange language. You pay triple the Uber fare in cash without rating the driver. Forget about bottled water. Complaining is futile because taxis are a local monopoly and customer service is an oxymoron.

     Uber is incredibly popular with customers and drivers. Customers save big money and enjoy a safe, pleasant experience. Drivers work only when and where they wish at prices they voluntarily accept. Often, Uber drivers already were enroute to near where their customers wanted to go. The shared ride also saved fuel and reduced emissions.

     Given the contrast between taxis and Uber, why would any sane person wish to ban Uber and force the taxi monopoly on the public? Yet, that is precisely the liberal position. Every progressive group and politician that stridently insists any two people can share a marriage are adamantly opposed to any two people sharing a ride or an apartment. Liberal opposition groups include trial attorneys, labor unions, government rent-seekers, regulatory agencies, race-baiters, taxi cartels and, of course, politicians.

     Bill de Blasio wants to cap the number of Uber drivers; he said, “Uber skirts vital protections and oversight.” (Translation: He can’t collect taxes and enforce union wages.) Hillary Clinton said, “The gig economy raises hard questions about workplace protections and what a good job looks like.” (Translation: government intervention and regulation are needed.) Bernie Sanders, “I have serious problems with unregulated businesses like Uber.” Mayors of many liberal cities have tried to stop Airbnb. Other opponents include, inter alia, Elizabeth Warren, Diane Feinstein and Nancy Pelosi.

     The sharing economy has helped more people, especially poor, young, seniors and minorities, than any government program. It empowers more people to be their own boss and benefits the entire economy by increasing productivity and cutting costs. Liberals fear these new opportunities make people less dependent on government; they always choose government force over voluntary cooperation, i.e. markets.

     More so than any other benefit, liberal opposition to Uber and the sharing economy exposes raw hypocrisy like progressives’ ersatz claim to support “choice”. They are unwavering about a woman’s right to choose (Translation: to choose abortion) but oppose the same woman’s right to choose where to school her children, to own a gun, not to join a union or not to buy health insurance. Now they oppose the same woman’s right to share her car or to share her apartment. The hypocrisy runs very deep indeed!