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Ridesharing Was Dealt a Huge Blow by the New York City Council’s Regulatory Overstep.

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The New York City Council recently succeeded in dealing a huge blow to the entire ridesharing industry. Uber and Lyft are no strangers to dealing with local governments trying to regulate them out of existence, but Manhattan’s actions have escalated the situation to unprecedented levels by restricting the number of Uber vehicles permitted within city limits.

The city council voted to cap the number of Uber cars allowed to operate within the city and institute a minimum wage for ridesharing drivers. This is a huge regulatory overstep, as it completely undermines the elements that originally made ridesharing such an innovative sector, to begin with. Uber not only made rides more affordable and convenient for passengers, but it also provided the option of quick employment to those in need of work. This allowed any individual the opportunity to become an entrepreneur by using property they already owned. And this served to help many people who were looking to improve their financial situation.  

Now that the number of Ubers is to be capped, there will be fewer opportunities for new drivers to earn money, and the consumers will suffer as well. Prior to Uber’s rise in popularity, there were many communities that were underserved by cabs. In many cases, cab drivers refused to service minority communities. Uber, however, helped to solve this problem by providing options to those who found it difficult to find a ride.

Ridesharing also helped provide alternatives to commuters who were fed up with the city-run Subway. Now thanks to the new cap, many residents will be without reliable transportation. Of course, that doesn’t seem to really bother city officials who seem more obsessed with controlling the ridesharing sector than they are about New York City’s transportation issues.

Josh Gold, a spokesman for Uber, said:

“A 12-month pause on new for-hire vehicle licenses will leave New Yorkers stranded while doing nothing to prevent congestion, fix the subways and help struggling taxi medallion owners. It’s unfortunate that the Council chose to tack this on to a thoughtful package, including the living wage proposal.”

Governments Despise What They Can’t Control

When Mayor de Blasio was asked why he and other city officials felt such a drastic move was necessary, he first blamed Uber for traffic congestion and then accused the company of trapping its drivers in poverty by refusing to pay them a “living wage.”

He commented:

“The Uber business model is: Flood the market with as many cars and drivers as possible, gain more market share and to hell with what happens to drivers or anybody else involved.”

He also added:

“Our city is directly confronting a crisis that is driving working New Yorkers into poverty and our streets into gridlock. The unchecked growth of app-based for-hire vehicle companies has demanded action – and now we have it.”

Not only is Uber a secondary source of income for many drivers, but drivers are also free to leave their jobs at any time. Yet, for some reason, Mayor de Blasio thinks individual residents are incapable of using their own judgment when it comes to negotiating wages. And by forcing a minimum wage on Uber, the city council is effectively destroying the entire employment model that makes the sharing economy so great.

Uber drivers are not employees, they are contractors using their own property and drive according to their own schedule. But by instituting a minimum wage, you are changing contractors into employees and taking away their ability to work directly with the company to determine payment.

To make matters worse, the cap is set to last for a year, during which time the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) will be tasked with conducting a study to determine the effects of ridesharing within the city. This would be akin to the government tasking Pepsi with studying Coca-Cola’s effects on consumers. It would be completely unethical to place the competition charge of determining someone’s fate. But this is exactly what New York City is doing, which makes it seem like this whole thing is more about control than it is about concern for the city.

Ridesharing, along with the broader sharing economy, sprung up without any help from government officials. No one asked permission first; instead Uber saw an opportunity to innovate and they ran with it. And it was precisely this spontaneous creation that led local governments to fear it.

Since New York City is hardly alone in its contempt for the ridesharing economy, it is only a matter of time until other cities use this measure as a precedent for their own restrictions. And therein lies the real trouble. Uber has vowed to not let this get in the way of their ability to serve the people of New York City. The company has even launched a campaign promising to continue business as usual. The city government may continue its oppressive measures against the company, but the market always seems to find a way.

 

How Permissionless Innovation Is Making Health Care Affordable

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The more government involves itself in health care, the harder it becomes to find quality services at affordable prices. As the state has inserted itself more heavily into the health sector over the last several years, many Americans are left searching for alternatives to traditional services.

Luckily, as technology continues to advance far beyond anything our grandparents thought possible, health care itself is becoming more decentralized as individuals are now able to take personal control over their medical decisions.

While older generations may be content to wait on others to improve existing services, millennials are too impatient to let others change the world without taking an active role.

As America’s favorite scapegoat, the country’s youth is constantly being accosted for not caring enough about our futures and specifically, for lack of desire when it comes to buying health insurance. Proponents of nationalized health care will say just about anything to convince young Americans to buy insurance policies we have no interest in purchasing. But while we may not be purchasing health care premiums, millennials are doing something no other generation has done before: open-sourcing health care.  

3D Print a Perfect Smile

Just last year, college student Amos Dudley was making headlines after he utilized his campus’ 3D printer in order to make his own orthodontic retainers. Unsatisfied with the appearance of his own teeth but unable to afford braces, which can cost several thousand dollars, Dudley spent his free time researching various methods of straightening teeth and applied that knowledge as he designed and 3D-printed several “invisible” retainers for his own use.

In a blog post on his personal website titled, Orthoprint, or How I Open-Sourced My Face, Dudley explains how he was inspired to take the appearance of his smile into his own hands.  

“What if you had a chance to save money, make yourself happier, and stick it to the dental appliance industry, all in one shot?” Dudley’s blog post begins. Feeling as self-conscious as most young adults feel, Dudley was resolved to do something about his teeth but, as he puts it, “At the time of writing this, I’m an undergrad, which means that a) I’m broke, and b) I have access to expensive digital fabrication tools – definitely an unusual dichotomy.”

Utilizing his school’s equipment along with two essential books, Contemporary Orthodontics (5e) by William Proffit DDS, PhD, and Orthodontics at a Glance by Gill Daljit., he was able to correct his own teeth with minimal production costs.

But Dudley isn’t the only young American who is open-sourcing the health care industry.

Health In Your Hands

Alabama resident Dana Lewis’ inspiration for designing and manufacturing artificial pancreases was born out of her own struggle with type 1 diabetes.

Since diabetes patients do not enjoy a fully functioning pancreas, which helps produce and regulate the flow of insulin throughout the body, the trick is finding some sort of device that automatically monitors the levels of blood sugar in the body and then adjusts the insulin administered. As of now, nothing on the market or available through a physician is able to adequately perform the tasks of a real pancreas, which has caused many diabetes patients to take their health in their own hands.  

Since there has been general dissatisfaction with the blood sugar monitors available to consumers, there have been previous attempts to open-source better products. Through the creation of smartphone apps that serve as alarms, these apps are meant to wake the diabetes patient up during the night when insulin levels typically drop.

While these were better than those on the market, they were still not getting the job done well enough. Which is why Dana and her husband had to ask the question:

“What else could we do?”

Dana and her husband utilized what is known as a Raspberry Pi minicomputer, an already existing medical device, and developed their own software codes that monitor blood sugar levels and adjust the amount of insulin delivered accordingly.

Thrilled by its success, the Lewises decided to offer the software code online to other diabetes patients for free. Supporters of Lewis began using the hashtag #Wearenotwaiting to express their dissatisfaction with the lengthy medical device approval process that prevents patients from getting the care they need. The “OpenAPS,” as Lewis named her artificial pancreas, was an instant success from the moment it debuted online.

By allowing others to have the software codes, over 250 diabetes patients have been able to utilize the Lewis’ innovative design. Lewis explained:

“Patients are changing the innovation pipeline. These technologies have to be ready faster.”

Which is exactly why millennials are taking the lead on health care innovation. Unwilling to sit still and gifted with tech-savvy skills, young people are using technology to become more self-sufficient and less dependent on government-riddled services.

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