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Capitalists in Cuba, Communists in Connecticut
Want to catch a cab in Havana? Good luck. No new taxi
licenses have issued since October 1999, fees are set by the state,
and license renewal fees are high. But last week, Cuba took a
surprising step and announced that it was going to
loosen up the rules, even going so far as to let taxis set
their own rates in the city. Rates are still capped, and the number
of licenses will be determined by local officials, but it's a
pretty big step for Cuba, where nearly all aspects of commerical
life are state-controlled:
The move by President Raul Castro's government also breaks with the policies of his ailing brother Fidel, who long accused private taxis - legal and otherwise - of seeking "juicy profits" and fomenting a black market for state-subsidized gasoline that Cuba "had sweated and bled" to obtain.
Unfortunately, capitalism isn't yet on the march for Connecticut taxi drivers. A few large companies dominate the market in the state, and independent taxi drivers are routinely denied licenses after a long wait.
"More than half are rejected in part because they were unable to prove their business was necessary. Imagine if we required a restaurant to prove that a town didn't have too many restaurants before they were allowed to open a new one," said Robert McNamara from the Institute for Justice.
Last month, Connecticut drivers rallied in Hartford to get the state laws changed. There's one advantage they have on their Cuban bretheren—if you tried a stunt like that in Cuba, you'd probably wake up dead.
Naga Sadow|1.13.09 @ 3:25PM|#
Hmmmmm . . . where is Episiarch to argue against having his streets clogged with taxis?
MAX HATS|1.13.09 @ 3:30PM|#
"Communists in Connecticut?" Really?
Katherine Mangu-Ward, you are by far the worst writer on this site
- an embarrassment really. Maybe NRO is hiring? You'd fit in there
great.
MAX HATS|1.13.09 @ 3:32PM|#
Idle question: what happens when a political party decides that all private property should be abolished? Are they like, extra-communists or somethng? Mega-communists? Because if denying cab licenses makes you a communist, clearly the word doesn't mean much.
|1.13.09 @ 3:33PM|#
MAX HATS, well she did go to Yale, just sayin'
It's not a bad post, the title is hyperbole, but that's the fucking
point.
Naga Sadow|1.13.09 @ 3:35PM|#
MAX HATS you fool!!! Not worshiping the only remaining libertarian goddess is a punishable offense here!
MAX HATS|1.13.09 @ 3:38PM|#
The more intelligent one is, the easier it is to be intellectually lazy.
Abdul|1.13.09 @ 3:38PM|#
I heard a BBC radio show about Cuba in which the host noted that
any Cuban with a car was obligated to give rides to hitch-hikers.
Being that he had a private car, he used this law to get ordinary
citizens into his car where they would talk off the record about
how communism sucked. It's like "Taxi Cab Confessions--Havanna
edition"
Either way, the mandatory free rides rule has gotta hurt the
private cabbie business.
Another Phil|1.13.09 @ 3:40PM|#
The more intelligent one is, the easier it is to be
intellectually lazy.
I must be a genius then, because I can't work up the interest to
figure out what the hell that means.
Another Phil|1.13.09 @ 3:41PM|#
Actually, I know what it means. I just don't see the basis for the claim.
Erm|1.13.09 @ 3:43PM|#
Cheeel, MAX. She's drawing a comparison between Communist Cuba
and Connecticut. If Connecticut is to the left of Cuba, it is
logical to assume that CT is also communist.
Of course, you're right. We're just talking about regulation of
taxis. Extrapolating such a sweeping conclusion on the basis of one
issue is absurd. But it's a tongue-in-cheek way of making a valid
point.
|1.13.09 @ 3:44PM|#
Worst? You're familiar with Steve Chapman right?
Sorry, but I would vote for any of the Michaels: Moynihan or Young
as the worst reason writers
Reinmoose|1.13.09 @ 3:47PM|#
"More than half are rejected in part because they were
unable to prove their business was necessary. Imagine if we
required a restaurant to prove that a town didn't have too many
restaurants before they were allowed to open a new one," said
Robert McNamara from the Institute for Justice.
Is Mr. McNamara excluding the concept of moratoria in his
imagination?
JW Gacy|1.13.09 @ 3:53PM|#
And let's not forget how much Dave Weigel suxorz.
And Jacob Sullum.
And Nick Gillespie.
And Damon W. Root.
And that doofus, Tim Cavanaugh.
Jiminy Christmas! What have I been reading?!?!
LurkerBold|1.13.09 @ 3:55PM|#
Just so you guys know, I've never posted here before. All the people using my handle are impostors.
Neu Mejican|1.13.09 @ 4:00PM|#
If Connecticut is to the left of Cuba, it is logical to
assume that CT is also communist.
But there is nothing in the post to suggest that CT is to the left
of Cuba. The rejection of Taxi licenses in CT seems to be the
result of the political influence of several large private
corporations, not due to a state-owned taxi industry...a problem,
sure, but, sort of, the problem that "communism" was designed to
combat (in theory).
Taktix®|1.13.09 @ 4:00PM|#
All the people using my handle are impostors.
I'm Brian, and so is my wife...
LurkerBold|1.13.09 @ 4:01PM|#
Indeed . . . IMPOSTER!!! How can people tell? You link to a vegetarian blog in EdinBurgh you idiot!
Jesus|1.13.09 @ 4:02PM|#
...you'd probably wake up dead.
Hey, I'm the only one who can pull that off.
MAX HATS|1.13.09 @ 4:03PM|#
If Nick Gillespie and KMW traded bylines for a week, there would be universal concern that he had suffered some sort of brain injury. Vociferously as I may disagree with the man's fashion choices, he does have a talent for writing engaging articles that effectively make arguments.
sage|1.13.09 @ 4:03PM|#
Now what about Cuba's health care? I'm going to be completely honest with you, I'm not that familiar with it...is it a government run system?
Neu Mejican|1.13.09 @ 4:03PM|#
Worst Reason writer...
Sort of like picking the worst record by Loverboy...what's the
point.
FWIW, I read H&R for the discussions, not for the writing in
the posts, and sometimes the best discussions are generated by the
worst posts by the worst Reason writers, so...
Jordan|1.13.09 @ 4:09PM|#
"Communists in Connecticut?" Really?
Katherine Mangu-Ward, you are by far the worst writer on this site - an embarrassment really. Maybe NRO is hiring? You'd fit in there great.
ZOMG NO WAI!!1 My lack of a sense of humor is your problem!
RAAAAGE! Katherine's posts are usually tongue-in-cheek, which
anyone who can read and think should be able to recognize.
|1.13.09 @ 4:09PM|#
Speaking of Gillespie, he appears to have a few admirers in the
baseball fan community:
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gawker/2009/01/blagobreasts_01.jpg
Jeff P|1.13.09 @ 4:11PM|#
Y'know, a really bad Loverboy album doesn't just happen by
itself. It takes lack of care, little or no craftsmanship, and a
singular drive to posess no talent.
REO Speedwagon albums, on the other hand...
Erm|1.13.09 @ 4:11PM|#
Zing. Jordan made my point much better than I did.
Apology/concession, please, Mr. HATS.
How do you say that, BTW? If I were to greet you on the street,
would I have to scream your last name?
Naga Sadow|1.13.09 @ 4:12PM|#
MAX HATS,
Wait! Now you are suggesting a guy with a Fonzi jacket isn't
"fashionable"? Jesus, man! Who's gonna fix a jukebox on the fritz?
You? With your collared shirt? I think not.
Guy Montag|1.13.09 @ 4:18PM|#
Anybody know where this insane cab licensing policy that has
infect all of the USA came from?
I remember reading about the NYC cab "token" policy back in the
1980s and that seemed pretty crazy even then.
What the hell is so wrong with giving people rides for a fee that
requires such a shitload of paperwork and fees?
Erm|1.13.09 @ 4:19PM|#
Nobody ever concedes anything in discussion threads, do they? Do
you think it's embarrassment, or do people just convince themselves
of the rightness of their argument no matter what?
Let's have a long and unproductive discussion about that.
Seward|1.13.09 @ 4:20PM|#
The commies in Conn. line was pretty clearly satire. People obviously getting varying mileage out of it.
lunchstealer|1.13.09 @ 4:22PM|#
Imagine if we required a restaurant to prove that a town
didn't have too many restaurants before they were allowed to open a
new one,
Now ALL restaurants are Taco Bell.
MAX HATS|1.13.09 @ 4:23PM|#
Her last post that I can recall was on how in Pakistan, local
police gave a man a permit for an AK-47, because they could not
protect him. Thesis: this disproved an argument for the Brady
Bill.
I'm not even
joking.
That's just off the top of my head.
And now this post here is just Coultierism, echoes of another
widely criticized author whose defenders allege that critics "just
don't have any sense of humor" about. Communists in Cuba did
something. A liberal government in the U.S. did something that, if
presented totally without context, looks similar. Therefore that
liberal government equals communism! Whiz, bang, column
done.
This is all well and good if she's auditioning for a job on Fox
News, which honestly I think is very possible. It is, however, a
bit below the usual pattern of operation here.
PFJ|1.13.09 @ 4:23PM|#
Devil's advocate- Taxis operate on public roads, restaurants operate on private property. Not that I support this.
|1.13.09 @ 4:26PM|#
This is H&R and we are in a motha-fucking echo chamber. I
dare any of you to claim H&R posts are required to be scholarly
arguments with no room for hyperbole or humor.
The comparison to Coulter, that's just low man.
MAX HATS|1.13.09 @ 4:31PM|#
If you like it, that's great. But personally, I come to H&R for a bit of a more open-minded, free-wheeling type of discussion, and that necessitates a level beyond name calling. There is no shortage of conservative or "libertarian" websites that specialize in making baseless comparisons between liberals and, say, Stalin. Not my scene, personally. I was banned in Redstate on day two.
|1.13.09 @ 4:38PM|#
Worst? You're familiar with Steve Chapman right?
Sorry, but I would vote for any of the Michaels: Moynihan or Young
as the worst reason writer
Stop arguing! They're ALL bad.
|1.13.09 @ 4:42PM|#
The conversation elevates above name-calling for those who
choose to do so. The beauty of H&R is that its requirements for
posting are very libertarian. You can choose any name and have all
the anonymity you want. Many of the posters here are very
intelligent and willing to spar on civil and throughly reasoned
grounds. Some, not so much. The elegance is you have the liberty to
choose what you want to get out of it.
That said, you chose name-calling, how sad.
Katherine Mangu-Ward, you are by far the worst writer on this
site - an embarrassment really.
You have chosen, poorly.
Naga Sadow|1.13.09 @ 4:46PM|#
Phalkor
Was that last line a reference to "Indiana Jones and the Last
Crusade"? Cuz he didn't turn to dust.
MAX HATS\' mom|1.13.09 @ 4:47PM|#
No, he did turn to dust. All of you impostors are so ... so ...
insensitive.
[sobs and runs from the room]
Guy Montag|1.13.09 @ 4:53PM|#
Naga Sadow,
Untaxed revenue. Nuff said.
But it does not need to be untaxed. It could be given a reasonable
tax, just like gum. Well, even more reasonable than that.
|1.13.09 @ 4:59PM|#
More than half are rejected in part because they were unable
to prove their business was necessary
politically connected.
Naga Sadow|1.13.09 @ 5:01PM|#
Guy,
Government is like the mafia. They want to "wet their beaks". Far
easier to create a limited number of players in a given market and
tax those that play the game.
Naga Sadow|1.13.09 @ 5:05PM|#
My bad, Guy. Does it help ya to know that all cities are eventually destroyed? All nation states fall? All species eventually go extinct? The only thing that stands between them and oblivion is time. Cheer up buddy!
Juan|1.13.09 @ 5:10PM|#
"The move by President Raul Castro's government also breaks with
the policies of his ailing brother Fidel"
No doubt this will exacerbate Fidel's post-life crisis.
Tepid Terri|1.13.09 @ 5:12PM|#
""More than half are rejected in part because they were unable
to prove their business was necessary. Imagine if we required a
restaurant to prove that a town didn't have too many restaurants
before they were allowed to open a new one," said Robert McNamara
from the Institute for Justice."
It's being done to fast food chains in California this very
moment.
Matt Welch Makes Me Sleepy|1.13.09 @ 5:15PM|#
"Sorry, but I would vote for any of the Michaels: Moynihan or
Young as the worst reason writers"
I respectfully beg to differ...
Lazerus, of Bethany|1.13.09 @ 5:18PM|#
"Hey, I'm the only one who can pull that off."
You're such a glory-hog.
Naga Sadow|1.13.09 @ 5:21PM|#
Guy,
Istanbul/Byzantium/Constantinople is old. Its been laid waste and
pillaged at least a half dozen times. Greeks, Thracians, Romans,
Turks, Macedonians, Persians, Sassanids, etc, have all tread it's
confines at one time or another. As for before 400 b.c.? I don't
know.
Naga Sadow|1.13.09 @ 5:24PM|#
I have trouble distinguishing between good, better, and best. My ingenius way is to judge by physical considerations. Therefore, KMW is the best writer here.
Guy Montag|1.13.09 @ 5:34PM|#
Saree,
Yea, that one too!
They should market it as "The Place that Jews Built" or something,
but Steinbrenner might sue them for that one.
Naga Sadow|1.13.09 @ 5:36PM|#
Guy,
I believe Jericho dates back to 12,000 B.C. That's 14,000 years for
you people who don't know who this Christ guy was.
|1.13.09 @ 5:45PM|#
Hit & Run is like a meeting area one half filled with people that tells jokes, and the other half filled with people who can't take one. It's a recipe for disaster.
Guy Montag|1.13.09 @ 5:52PM|#
It's a recipe for disaster.
That was a cryptic attack on the free market, wasn't it? NO NEED TO
ANSWER!
Guy Montag|1.13.09 @ 6:01PM|#
NS, and everybody else who likes free markets (yea, that will
keep the socialists out huh?),
The Gas Taxes as Welfare thread is perking up. Some anti-"monopoly"
freak just arrived.
MIN CAPS|1.13.09 @ 6:09PM|#
I agree with MAX HATS. Just recently I heard "California Uber Alles" and had to write a letter to Jello Biafra pointing out that Jerry Brown has never advocated gassing dissident Californians.
Guy Montag|1.13.09 @ 6:16PM|#
I was part of the security crew for Jello Biafra during a HOPE Con in NYC. That guy is a total ass, but managed to behave well around me.
Neu Mejican|1.13.09 @ 6:39PM|#
BTW,
regarding: Want to catch a cab in Havana? Good luck.
Taxis are, apparently, readily available for your use in
Havanna...
http://www.cubavacationstravel.com/cuba_taxi_prices.php
https://www.shutterpoint.com/Photos-ViewPhoto.cfm?id=657563
Guy Montag|1.13.09 @ 6:56PM|#
2600 Magazine has purchased several .com addresses, but at least to them it is a joke.
Neu Mejican|1.13.09 @ 8:27PM|#
Guy,
I don't get the impression that the website is run by Cuba. Too
many pieces of advise about how to get around the strict
laws.
Check this paragraph:
any tourist come to Cuba looking for sex and prostitution, We recommend to try to enjoy the different attractions that cuba offer to the visitors instead of being hunting whores or paying gays.
In this page we give you some tips about what to do and what not to do about having sex in Cuba. but first follow this link to know more about law for sex in Cuba ageofconsent.com/cuba.htm
Neu Mejican|1.13.09 @ 8:29PM|#
oops, posted too soon.
Don't encourage prostitution by paying cash for sex. It is a slippery slope for all concerned. Say NO!!!. The Cubans will have more respect for you. And you'll have more respect for yourself. And if you create a proper relationship with a Cuban, you won't be disappointed with the real passionate sex and affection they'll show you...Do Never Ever!!! have sex with a girl or a boy younger than 18 years old. law in cuba can be incredibly severe. always check the ID first, if she or he don't has any stop immediately. in cuba people look older than they are.
Guy Montag|1.13.09 @ 11:24PM|#
So, Neu, you are trying to tell us that some non-governmental entity is doing the "don't see the hookers" schtic?
economist|1.13.09 @ 11:40PM|#
Belated note to Max Hats,
Stay angry! Remember to emphasize your anger by typing in all caps
and throwing random insults! Trolls of the world unite!
JD|1.14.09 @ 12:58PM|#
The sad thing is that when I read the description of Cuba's taxi system, I said, "Oh, so it's like New York City, then." Except that NYC isn't looking at liberalizing its taxi regulations.
Neu Mejican|1.14.09 @ 4:08PM|#
Guy,
It was more stuff like this that seemed unlikely to come from the
government...
Illegal cabs driven by freelance chauffeurs are everywhere too.
Most are beat-up Ladas or American jalopies. You'll find freelance
driver guides outside the largest tourist hotels, and outside
discos late at night. Fares are negotiable and you often can hire a
car and driver for the whole day for US $20. But you'll usually pay
end up paying more than you would in a tourist taxi. Educate
yourself about turistaxi fares to your destination beforehand, as
many drivers attempt to gouge you. Beware scams. ...
So bring small gifts with you before you fly to Cuba as they
basically have nothing by way of material possessions; anything
that you can leave behind they will appreciate .All that we find
'normal' in our lives they appreciate very much!"
Along with tips on getting around customs with Cigars...
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