In Washington DC, a limo service known as Uber was targeted by a DC councilwoman whose goal was clearly to shield taxicabs from competition. The DC crowd used Twitter to express its displeasure and the councilwoman backed off the proposed legislation that would increase the price of the limo service. That’s an interesting story on its own, but what’s more important is the root of the story: An elected official was seeking to pick a winner in the marketplace — the taxicabs — and thus create a loser in the marketplace — the limo service. That is completely inappropriate. The marketplace decides winners and losers, and consumers benefit because their buying decisions incent improvements to service and rates. Government should stay out of it.
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