Stupid is as stupid does and stupidity votes Obama

[Ben Kenobi]

Seriously, are you on crack? You've just invented an entire statement that in no way fits with anything I posted. If you're going to argue with the voices in your head, at least have the decently to argue back in your head too.

*sigh*.

Westboro church believes that God hates Fags and that homosexual men and women cannot be redeemed. "Sins against the holy spirit and all".
The Catholic church believes that sinners CAN be redeemed and that gay men and women can repent and be saved.
I am a Catholic, not a baptist .

Ergo - I do not agree with the Westboro Baptist Church.

Logic *****es.

That is exactly what no-one has ever said about the catholic church.

Um - say a Rosary and you'll be forgiven of your sins? Plenty of people have said that about the Catholic church - especially evangelical Christians. I should know - I was one!

[kentonio]

Right, and then they take large portions of the cab drivers' fare as either profit, or interest on the debt they took on to buy the medallion. With inexpensive (plentiful) medallions, the immigrants wouldn't have to pay massive rents to the medallion holders.

Instead you'd have 10 times as many cabs, and their wages would be far lower, whats your point? They would also be far harder for the city to regulate to ensure things like passenger safety etc, no?

[kentonio]

*sigh*.

Westboro church believes that God hates Fags and that homosexual men and women cannot be redeemed. "Sins against the holy spirit and all".
The Catholic church believes that sinners CAN be redeemed and that gay men and women can repent and be saved.
I am a Catholic, not a baptist .

Ergo - I do not agree with the Westboro Baptist Church.

Logic *****es.

Ah so like normal you just constructed a strawman argument of your own choosing. Don't know why I'm surprised.

Um - say a Rosary and you'll be forgiven of your sins? Plenty of people have said that about the Catholic church - especially evangelical Christians. I should know - I was one!

I thought the proper catholic approach was to charge large sums of money for papal indulgences?

[Ben Kenobi]

I thought the proper catholic approach was to charge large sums of money for papal indulgences?

Nope say a Rosary, you'll be forgiven of your sins.

And, no, it's not a strawman! Westboro Baptist Church believes this!

[kentonio]

Nope say a Rosary, you'll be forgiven of your sins.

I think you need to look up the word 'penitence' in the dictionary, you're really not getting this religion thing.

[Jaguar]

Instead you'd have 10 times as many cabs, and their wages would be far lower, whats your point? They would also be far harder for the city to regulate to ensure things like passenger safety etc, no?

The fares would be far lower, because there would be no need for them to fund the purchase of $1 million medalions.

The wages wouldn't be lower. Cab drivers are paid approximately the market wage for immigrant labor. They would likely earn similar wages without the medallion system. The market for immigrant labor is much larger than the market for cab driving, so the cabbie market is a "price taker."

We would see many more cabs and many more cabbies. The city could still maintain all other regulations it wants to and charge a reasonable (non-million-dollar) fee for making its safety checks.

[Kuciwalker]

Instead you'd have 10 times as many cabs, and their wages would be far lower, whats your point? They would also be far harder for the city to regulate to ensure things like passenger safety etc, no?

It is ambiguous whether cab driver wages would change at all, let alone in what direction. There are a number of possibilities:

1) Most of the rents from the medallions go to the owners, with a small fraction going to incumbent cab drivers. After medallions are made plentiful, the rent vanishes, cab driver wages fall a little bit, many more immigrants get jobs as cab drivers, and cab fare becomes much cheaper.

2) ALL of the rents from the medallions go to the owners, plus some extra if the owners enjoy some monopsony hiring power (they might but probably don't). After medallions are made plentiful, cab driver wages stay the same or even INCREASE a little bit, many more immigrants get jobs as cab drivers, and cab fare becomes much cheaper. edit: this is the scenario Jaguar is referring to, and is the 'default' assumption of what will happen under normal economic conditions.

3) The same as (1), but the increase in the # of cabs moves the entire market to a new equilibrium (e.g. if people know that it is easy and convenient to get a cab they are more likely to look for one in the first place), resulting in increased cab driver wages, more cab driver jobs, AND cheaper cab far.

4) By the time a given city finishes having this argument, self-driving cars have already rendered cab drivers obsolete. (This is by far the best possibility.)

[Ben Kenobi]

I think you need to look up the word 'penitence' in the dictionary, you're really not getting this religion thing.

Isn't that what confess your sins means?

[Hauldren Collider]

You were talking about the police? Jesus christ man, you need to spend less time in threads with Ben.

I think the analogy is rather apt. In many countries, the difference between organized crime and the government is just whoever happens to be the biggest fish in the ocean. In the United States, this is only true in ridiculous regulatory regimes like New York.

[kentonio]

I think the analogy is rather apt. In many countries, the difference between organized crime and the government is just whoever happens to be the biggest fish in the ocean. In the United States, this is only true in ridiculous regulatory regimes like New York.

You do talk some insanely crazy **** sometimes.

[Hauldren Collider]

It is somewhat hyperbole--I would not compare Mayor Bloomberg to Al Capone. It is worth noting, however, that many government exercises are simply payoffs to vested interests that closely resemble--and in fact are perfectly analogous to--organized crime.

[-Jrabbit]

The city government is responsible for the laws it enforces.

Local politics tends to be ruled by expediency. If a meaningful number of residents of New York demanded more taxis at lower medallion prices, it would happen within two election cycles.

Of course, if free market medallions were as easily obtained as cars and driver's licenses, we'd be talking about how those evil Democrats were screwing the people of NYC by allowing unqualified drivers and unsafe vehicles to run rampant on the streets, turning Manhattan traffic into a daily horror show. My contention: the people on NY care much more about traffic than they do about the number of cabs on the streets.

As for Chicago's liberalism, machine aldermen like Bernie Hanson (from my old ward) and Ed Vrdolyak are among the most repressive, conservative people I've ever met. For them, politics is about nothing more than staying "in" -- maintaining the status quo. Any actual move toward liberal social policies was evaluated strictly in terms of voting potential. Bernie hated the gays and worked to keep them out of his Wrigleyville district - until they became a significant voting bloc there. Suddenly, he was a paragon of acceptance. Twas ever thus.

Regarding Wal-Mart, the city's unwillingness to let them in was, again, driven by votes, nothing more. Wal-Mart earned a (probably well-deserved) reputation as a destroyer of previously viable local businesses, which became an easy, seemingly "pro-local-business" stance that played well in local politics.

[Hauldren Collider]

Regarding Wal-Mart, the city's unwillingness to let them in was, again, driven by votes, nothing more. Wal-Mart earned a (probably well-deserved) reputation as a destroyer of previously viable local businesses, which became an easy, seemingly "pro-local-business" stance that played well in local politics.

This is repulsive and further anchors my and Jaguar's point. The reason they are able to "destroy" local businesses is that they provide superior service to customers. Otherwise people would not shop there. You are hurting the poor by preventing low cost businesses such as Wal-Mart from occupying the city, and protecting the incumbent, inefficient, wealth destroying businesses by preventing them from being overtaken by something superior.

[Imran Siddiqui]

On the tangent, earlier, which I found interesting: Ben is right that some do find Catholic views on forgiveness of sins to be incredibly lenient. However, I find it more from athiests than, say, Evangelical Christians. A lot of, oh you could kill millions, but just say your sorry and you are off to the pearly gates - that sort of thing.

[Jaguar]

On the tangent, earlier, which I found interesting: Ben is right that some do find Catholic views on forgiveness of sins to be incredibly lenient. However, I find it more from athiests than, say, Evangelical Christians. A lot of, oh you could kill millions, but just say your sorry and you are off to the pearly gates - that sort of thing.

You have to be really sincerely sorry, though. What sort of Christian are you, Imran?