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Massachusetts to tax ride-hailing apps, give the money to taxis

reuters.com

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Re: Massachusetts to tax ride-hailing apps, give the money to taxis

#291

Post by Trundle »

emodendroket wrote: post #289
Trundle wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many of them don't want to go back to school or get technical training... What do we tell the taxi and truck drivers when Uber shows up with self-drivers, etc.? Uhhh, how about "suck it up and do it anyway"? I know plenty of people on hn are all about the "making the world a better place" shtick and would work anyway/for the sake of it but for the vast majority of people work straight up means doing things you otherw…

> Uhhh, how about "suck it up and do it anyway"? Why don't these dummies just forego income for months or years to get training for new careers that they may or may not even be able to enter?

>Why don't these dummies just forego income for months or years to get training for new careers that they may or may not even be able to enter?

Applies to everyone that enters a skilled trade/profession, not specifically drivers.

Re: Massachusetts to tax ride-hailing apps, give the money to taxis

#292

Post by erklik »

xg15 wrote: post #223
BurningFrog wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> what happens to an industry when it's made redundant by technology We have over 200 years experience of countless industries being made redundant by technology. It's not a new scary thing that has never happened before.

So how would you solve the problem based on that experience?

Some sort of basic income or a welfare scheme. As someone else mentioned, Australian's out of job get paid $300 or $400 depending on how many kids you have etc and how much savings. This allows the government to make sure that everyone out of a job doesn't go homeless but its not enough to be comfortable so people don't become dependent on it. ( Some people do become dependent on it, its not a 100% unfortunately )

Re: Massachusetts to tax ride-hailing apps, give the money to taxis

#293

Post by erklik »

chrisbennet wrote: post #264
pfisch wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm pretty sure the answer is to retrain and/or go into a different profession.

As a thought exercise, what will/would software developers do once 90% are made redundant by A.I. or something? Maybe "suck it up" and go back to school to become nurses?

Yup. Or learn how to make A.I.'s ?? I don't know yet but basically find a different job.

Its not that complicated actually.

Re: Massachusetts to tax ride-hailing apps, give the money to taxis

#294

Post by IkmoIkmo »

I fully understand one may tax a new successful industry, and then use the proceeds for individual citizens who lose jobs and need some support, training and job programs to help them back on their feet.

But this is ridiculous. The notion an uncompetitive industry, which is fading because ordinary people can and do choose a better product or service, gets money to stay alive with its shittier product, just makes no sense. It doesn't achieve what we want, and there are good alternatives.

Re: Massachusetts to tax ride-hailing apps, give the money to taxis

#295

Post by pfisch »

chrisbennet wrote: post #264
pfisch wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm pretty sure the answer is to retrain and/or go into a different profession.

As a thought exercise, what will/would software developers do once 90% are made redundant by A.I. or something? Maybe "suck it up" and go back to school to become nurses?

Well, if software developers are made redundant by AI then we have already transitioned to a new type of economy because virtually every other job has been replaced except service industry.

If we are in some impossible world where that isn't true then I would say they should maybe go into medicine, engineering or law I guess.

Your question is too open ended to answer really. I have like 10 follow up questions to understand the parameters of the original question.

Re: Massachusetts to tax ride-hailing apps, give the money to taxis

#296

Post by allendoerfer »

chii wrote: post #280
onion2k wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We also have 200 years of people in the redundant industries complaining about it, and 200 years of government regulating to make the transition less painful. Why should we stop that with taxis?

> 200 years of government regulating to make the transition less painful. i find that hard to believe - what was done in the last 200 years to lessen the pain of any transition?

Pensions, accident insurance, and medical care. Not 200 years, but 150-175 years [0]. Universal unemployment insurance came only in 1927.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welfare_state#Germany

Re: Massachusetts to tax ride-hailing apps, give the money to taxis

#297

Post by allendoerfer »

BigJono wrote: post #251
xg15 wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So how would you solve the problem based on that experience?

A good welfare system pretty much solves it. I'm not sure why America is struggling to create one. Here in Australia the government will happily pay you $300 a week until you can find a job. It costs us something like $9.5B per year, which is pretty much nothing. Our government doesn't have to disincentivise innovation to help people adjust. Sure, some people are going to find it hard to live on that amount, but they…

> A good welfare system pretty much solves it. I'm not sure why America is struggling to create one.

America is still divided even on the question whether healthcare should be universal, which other states introduced ~50 years before unemployment benefits were invented, so I think this will still take a while.

Re: Massachusetts to tax ride-hailing apps, give the money to taxis

#298

Post by vidarh »

morgante wrote: post #117
HillRat wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I'd like to see a dialectic about why income inequality increasing is bad, in of itself. One main issue is that income inequality decreases socioeconomic mobility by inflating the cost of scarce goods that improve earnings capabilities. So 4K TVs are cheaper but college tuition becomes unaffordable, because good universities and grad programs are valuable, scarce goods that the wealthy can outbid everyone else on. P…

> So 4K TVs are cheaper but college tuition becomes unaffordable, because good universities and grad programs are valuable, scarce goods that the wealthy can outbid everyone else on. Except that such goods are increasingly not priced via the market. If you're smart enough to get into an elite university, you don't have to worry about the cost. Full stop. That being said, I do think we have a societal responsibility t…

> If you're smart enough to get into an elite university, you don't have to worry about the cost. Full stop.

This presupposes that you are already in a social position that allows your intelligence to be recognised and that puts you in a position to even apply, or know that applying is an option.

Re: Massachusetts to tax ride-hailing apps, give the money to taxis

#299

Post by jbmorgado »

I would understand if the state imposed this tax in order for this money to provide some social security to the drivers of Uber/Lift/etc. But taking this money away from them and giving them to the taxi lobby sounds almost like state imposed robbery.

Re: Massachusetts to tax ride-hailing apps, give the money to taxis

#300

Post by allendoerfer »

erklik wrote: post #293
chrisbennet wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a thought exercise, what will/would software developers do once 90% are made redundant by A.I. or something? Maybe "suck it up" and go back to school to become nurses?

Yup. Or learn how to make A.I.'s ?? I don't know yet but basically find a different job. Its not that complicated actually.

I am not saying this specifically to your comment, but to the whole thread:

Not all people can accomplish the same performance. Most HN users were just lucky. I am not sure where I would be today if I had not been born into a college educated family, had college educated friends and so on. Not all people have the same luck. Beyond that there are different levels of intelligence or just inability to concentrate etc. There are people on the job market who write and read on a level you had when you were 10 years old.

HN could really use some empathy. I would be ashamed if the cab driver, who actually lives next doors and gets up Friday and Saturday nights to drive drunk people home, because that's the only time you can make money here, would read this thread. When we talk about thousands of people we cannot just say "suck it up" and call it a day. HN should be the first to understand that the law of large numbers is at play here: People who do not want to work, will not matter for the whole group. If we do not want society to drift apart (which has enormous costs attached) we should solve the systemic issue.

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