lvc@cbscc.UUCP (Larry Cipriani) (02/19/85)
I believe that 'white greed' has some basis in fact, but probably not in the way most readers have in mind. In our Facist economy, there are over 500 licensed (government enforced) professions. The *effect* of licensing (as it is usually implemented) is to protect current workers from potential competitors. How many minority plumbers, carpenters, electricians, hairdressers, barbers, truckers, doctors, lawyers, etc. do you know of ? Not many I bet. Every one of those professions is licensed, (the situation as to truckers is gradually improving largely because of trucking deregulation). If you want to be a legal taxicab driver in New York, you have to buy a 'medallian'. The current market value of a medallian is $60,000. What poor person (read usually poor minority) can afford this ? Why, why, why is this needed ? To protect the public from too many cabs ? Bullshit. Washington D.C. has nearly a perfectly *free market* in taxicab service. The service is inexpensive, the drivers are courteous, and the number of cabs is very high. But in New York you have expensive service, obnoxious drivers, and too few cabs. The drivers in D.C. are mostly minorities, the drivers in N.Y. are mostly whites. Before the medallian system, *anyone* could put a 'taxi' sign on their car and charge fares. This proved to be a good way for many poor people to inexpensively improve their lot. Now the poor can't because of the damn law. There are many more examples of how licensing laws hurt the poor. The book 'The State Against Blacks' by economist Walter Williams discusses this subject very well. Williams, by the way, is black. Larry Cipriani cbscc!lvc