When I enrolled in Mohawk College's Chemical Engineering Technology program in 1981 I had already been heavily influenced by free market advocates like Milton Friedman, FEE, Frederic Bastiat, etc.
The relevant thesis, in this case, is that government economic intervention causes economic distortions that lead to mis-allocation and wasted resources.
On the first day of the course, in September, 1981, there were over 40 students in the class. Part of the reason there were so many students was because of the politically contrived incentives to be there. Artificially low tuition, government backed loans, and outright grants all made the program more attractive than it would have been in the absence of government intervention. (Does the word, "bubble" come to mind?)
Within a few short months a lot of the students had already dropped out, having no real interest in the subject, and having spent their grant and loan money on booze and partying.
By the time graduation day rolled around, there were only about 12 students left. Some of them were not even from that first class. It had taken them more than the two years to complete the program.
And guess what?
There weren't even any jobs for those who reached the finish line.
At the time I was marveling at the colossal waste from this government created circumstance, including the amount of time (years,) and the grant and loan money that the students had wasted, and the amount of money that was wasted on infrastructure and equipment. Labs, classrooms, and spectrometers, distillation columns, and so on....
all for nothing.
It was almost funny, except it wasn't.
As it turned out, I was one of the "lucky" ones. Perhaps the only lucky one. I still had some contact with a few of my fellow grads back then, and the word was that ONLY ONE OTHER GRAD found a job "related" to the program. Some barely minimum-wage gig, that required a commute to Toronto, to mix paint or something.
What a joke.
I landed a job in a research center. I was pretty excited at first, until I found out that the actual job required little more than about a grade 8 level of skill.
What a disappointment that was.
So out of the forty or so students from day one, all of those taxpayer resources had been spent so that ONE graduate could be paid to weigh the amount of molten polyethylene that was extruded through a small die in 30 seconds.
Something seemed seriously out of whack, wouldn't you say?
Multiply this experience over the millions of young people pursuing "degrees in worthlessness," as Gerald Celente puts it, and the costs to our economy become astronomical.
"In 2015, there were more than two million students enrolled at Canadian universities and colleges, compared to almost 800,000 in 1980." -- see attached article.
That's why, whenever I hear some *bonehead* like Bernie Sanders advocate free, and universal higher education, it makes me want to puke.
Immediately after writing the above rant I opened my email to discover a new vlog by Stefan Molyneaux titled, "DON'T GO TO COLLEGE."
Friday, March 10, 2017
Fun with acronyms.
Is anyone else losing track of the revisions to the LGBT acronym?
I found LGBTQQIP2SAA. I expect the list to keep on growing.
The Burlington pig lady says, “This is the fight of my life. I am going to spend the rest of my life fighting for the rights of animals ’til they are considered equal just like the rest of us.”
What letter will they use to cover pigs?
They can't use "P" for "pig," or "porker," because that letter is already taken. "B" for "boar," is already taken. So is "S" for "swine."
Oh, I've got it! "H" for "hog."
LGBTQQIP2SAAH.
There is a lot of potential, right there, for a massive expansion of the acronym.
There is no "C" in there, so cows are easily included. But that leaves out cats. Let's use "F" for felines. There is no "D" for dog, but what about donkeys? I forget, is "donkey" synonymous with "mule?" Or can We use "M" for "mouse."
I don't want to get too wrapped up in the details right now so let's just temporarily adopt the convention that the letter represents all of the animals in that class. Throw in an "E" for elephants and eels and we are already up to LGBTQQIP2SAAHCFDME. Oh, and an "R" for reptiles - LGBTQQIP2SAAHCFDMER.
Then you will have to separate all of these groups depending upon whether they are cis, gay, or questioning, etc. You'll need a book of regulations the size of the Toronto telephone directory (if it still exists) just to sort out all of the bathroom protocols, not to mention the allocations of publicly funded surgeries and hormone replacement therapies.
An army of interpreters will be required when worms (LGBTQQIP2SAAHCFDMERW) start running for public office. (as if that would change anything.)
Then there is the thorny issue of plant's rights. According to one report, "living organisms should be considered morally for their own sake because they are alive."
Whew! This whole issue of assigning rights in accordance with identity politics could start to seem rather crazy to some people. Politicians, on the other hand, can be counted upon to enthusiastically embrace the challenge. There is no better profession than politics because it allows its practitioners to create their own "jobs," no matter how utterly useless they may be, while drawing a guaranteed salary from the public purse.
Imagine the quandaries that would evolve in the field of medical ethics. Picture this in comic format,
A potato is lying in a bed in the intensive care ward. A doctor stands nearby talking to a bushel full of close family members. The caption reads,
"I think we should pull the plug."
Is it time to pull the plug on the whole damned thing?
MCGA.
Other News
Thursday, March 9, 2017
Survival Techniques for Uber Cab Drivers in the Contrived Sharing Economy.
As the amazingly powerful political corporation, Uber, has demonstrated, given sufficient financial backing, politicians and fake news media outlets can easily be fooled, intimidated and/or bought off by the notorious one percenters. Even MADD Canada has apparently decided to turn a blind eye to Uber's dangerous distractive technology by partnering with the $70 Billion taxi brokerage. One can only guess at whether MADD is receiving cash from Uber in return for its endorsements.
In the taxi industry, this has led to a bastardized form of deregulation. The traditional cap on taxi licenses in most jurisdictions has been removed by stealth, as Uber has been granted the equivalent of unlimited taxi licenses. To make matters worse, Uber's taxi licenses enjoy a flexibility that is unavailable to its competition.
Predictably, taxi history is starting to repeat itself. The streets are becoming flooded with hungry taxi drivers cruising for a diminishing number of passengers, while the taxi brokerages, including Uber, continue to extract a percentage of the total business volume. Uber gets its 25% regardless of whether it has one hundred drivers on the road, or ten thousand. Unfortunately, all cab drivers, both Uber and non-exempt, experience drastic declines in earnings.
Those die-hards who still wish to attempt to make a living in this new taxi environment will be forced to become more resourceful by attempting to capture a larger share of that shrinking market for themselves, and/or expand the array of the types of services they provide. I have put together a few ideas that cab drivers may wish to consider as the efforts to survive become increasingly difficult for those in the trenches.
1- Bootlegging
You can't make a living by sitting in a parked car and waiting for a $5 fare every hour or so. Therefore, selling alcohol after the government's monopoly booze vendors have closed can be a way of making a few extra bucks. In Hamilton, the price for after hours booze is about twice the retail price. A case of 24, sold for $30 in one of the government's monopoly outlets, typically sells for twice that price when delivered by sharing economy alcohol vendors. If you pick up two cases of beer and a couple of 26ers of whiskey at the start of your shift, it can make the difference between going home with $40 or $200.
2 - Hookers
Love sharing has been around since the beginning of time. Some call it, "the oldest profession." An Uber driver with knowledge and experience in this particular market could match up lonely people with those individuals who have underused resources available. A booking fee, as well as a percentage of the benefits, could be charged.
3 - Tobacco
Though under serious attack, tobacco use still remains popular with about 18% of the population. A starving Uber/cab driver could gather and retain some steady customers in this niche market by allowing passengers to smoke in their cabs. After building up a steady customer base in this niche, Uber/cab drivers have the opportunity to up-sell their regular passengers by purchasing cartons of untaxed cigarettes in the flourishing Six Nations sharing economy and sharing them with their customers in exchange for a commensurate booking fee.
4 - Cash
The most easily available opportunity for impoverished Uber/taxi drivers in the new sharing economy, is to find ways to share less of their earnings with the Uber corporation. And the best way to accomplish this, is to find ways to evade Uber's 25% "share" of the services you provide. Get some business cards printed up and share them with your most pleasant and lucrative passengers. If they are regular users, you can even offer them a 10% cash discount if they call you directly instead of fidgeting around with a buggy smart-phone to summon a random Uber taxi. The customer gets a 10% discount. You get the extra 15% that Uber would have taxed away from you, and Goldman Sachs and the rest of Uber's one percenter investors get zip, zero, zilch. What's not to like about that?
Freedom
Uber/taxi drivers who are able to successfully apply the suggestions provided above may discover that they no longer require the services of the Uber taxi brokerage. It's a win-win situation for the buyers and sellers of taxi rides, and a big loss for the exploiters of politically corrupt regulatory regimes.
Cautionary Note
For the record, as a practicing rideshare driver for a span of over 40 years, I don't personally use any of these techniques to minimize the damage done to me by the regulators. I am sixty-three years old and long past the days when risky business practices might have appealed to me. I am now at that stage where I intend to merely continue driving people around for compensation until there are no more customers. After that, I intend to apply for welfare or ODSP until I reach the age of pension illegibility.
Most of the suggestions I have provided above involve some degree of non-compliance with existing laws. I do not advocate that Uber/cab drivers adopt these suggestions. That would probably be illegal. However, anyone considering adopting any of these Uber/cab driver survival strategies ought not to proceed without being fully aware of the possible consequences. Don't get carried away with the idea that the Uber business model will be as successful for you as it has been for Uber. If you don't have deep pockets, and/or friends in influential government positions and the media, you may discover that non-compliance with the law, in your case, (unlike Uber's,) will not be rewarded with the legalization of your activities, along with the guaranteed profits. You need to know the difference between up and down when it comes down to navigating through politicized economies.
More Issues on the Government-Backed Uber Scam
Distracted Driving
An exploration of dangerous "distractive" technology, its use in Uber (and any other) taxis, and why, oh why, is MADD Canada shilling for Uber?
Labor Strife
The explosion in the number of cabs on the streets is hurting amateur Uber cabbies as much as it is hurting their professional counterparts.
Uber and Ola drivers in India are now aggressively demanding better pay and working conditions.
see here.
Toronto Uber drivers are starting to turn on each other because of the squeeze market saturation is putting on them.
Licensed cab drivers are not the only victims of Uber's "business model."
Hyderabad Uber Driver Suicide Adds Fuel To Protests For Better Pay.
See also, Uber driver ends life in Hyderabad, family says he was under pressure to pay car EMI.
“They are increasing the number of cabs in the city but the number of customers have not changed."
From the stranger danger file:
Victim sexually assaulted by Kingston man pretending to be car-sharing driver.
“On February 11, 2017 in the late evening hours the victim was in the downtown district with friends at a bar. The victim had a friend call for a car-sharing service to take her home. The victim later approached vehicles outside of the bar looking for her driver.
The accused claimed he was her driver and the victim got into his car."
""But the ride-sharing app that Uber uses means drivers and passengers already know each other even before they meet, and they rate each other as well — and that’s enough of a safety measure," said [London Councilor Stephen] Turner."
Meanwhile, clueless politicians continue to make critical decisions based upon purely fictional imaginings of how the world really works.
By the way, having a sticker in the window provides scant protection to vulnerable riders. Anyone can buy Uber stickers from Amazon.com.
Uber Question
What will happen to used car buyers when Uber drivers sell their vehicles?
"Thing is back in september i had a midsize american sedan and it use to burn normalish gas. I pay $4.2k for it used for 3 months, sold it for the same amount. What I lost was like 3 oil changes and the Tax ($800) and gas ofc but thats it. It had 200k klicks when i had it. It never had any problems. I made profit, enough to buy a full size executive. But with a full size executive, the gas increases, i still make a little profit."
I wonder if this guy informed the buyer that his car had been used as a taxi?
Finally, a message from Uberman:
Thursday, February 23, 2017
Bring back Safe Two-Way Radio Taxicab Dispatch Technology.
The majority of collisions in Ontario are caused by distracted drivers. Don't text, read, eat or anything that distracts you. JUST DRIVE. pic.twitter.com/rkDMDQt4uo
In short: Using computers to dispatch taxis is IDIOTIC.
I'm old school taxi. I spent most of my "career" in this business using two-way voice radio.
You could operate your taxi without ever taking your eyes off the road.
There was a time when being a taxi driver, contrary to popular perception, actually involved a lot of skill.
I have been in the business for long enough to remember those days. The relationship between a good dispatcher, and a good driver, could be made to harmonize like good music. Then someone came up with the idea that it would be better to use computers to allocate ride-sharing requests. That was when it all started to turn into shit.
Far from being an enhancement of communication for the purposes of taxicab dispatch, the introduction of mindless computer algorithms to the task of dealing with the innately rough and tumble process of "matching riders with drivers," has been a disaster on many fronts, for both the front-line providers of ride-sharing services, and the customers.
There was a time when the two-way radio could have been regarded as a "disruptive technology" just like Uber's app.
From Wikipedia:
"The first major innovation after the invention of the taximeter occurred in the late 1940s, when two-way radios first appeared in taxicabs. Radios enabled taxicabs and dispatch offices to communicate and serve customers more efficiently than previous methods, such as using callboxes."
I saw through the scam when the the taxi brokerage I was signed with in 2007 decided to migrate to a computerized dispatch system.
It was completely obvious.
1 - the brokerage would no longer have to hire skilled, experienced, knowledgeable dispatchers to verbally allocate ride-sharing requests. Instead, they could recruit lower paid call-takers to simply type addresses into a computer.
It saved money for the brokers.
It did squat for the operators. (Who were forced to pay for the useless hardware and software upgrades.)
2 - whereas, previously, the broker had to rent out parking spaces for its cabs to queue up during slow periods when trip rationing was necessitated, the computer allowed the cabs to sit anywhere. And they did. This resulted in greater aggravation to the public as the cabs started to queue up in no-stopping zones, beside parking meters, hospital ramps, and areas known to be frequented by taxi-using foreign students in my city.
It also increased the probability that any individual cab that was dispatched to a high-frequency pick-up zone would end up being "scooped" by another hungry cab that was already loitering there.
This phenomena lead to the increased probability that an individual driver who was dispatched to a high-frequency zone would simply ignore the call, knowing that the probability he had already been scooped by a loiterer was about 95%. And this led to lower service reliability.
Of course, there was that remaining 5% of the time when the caller had not been scooped up by a loiterer, and ended up having to call a second or third time before they could actually get a driver to respond. Which led to complaints about the "unreliability" of taxi service. (Which was itself exacerbated by the City's insane policy of issuing unnecessary taxi licenses, which led to an increase in the number of vacant taxis, which were thus, increasingly available to scoop other cabs rather than running their own trips. In the "old days" when most cabs were actually engaged, there was a much lower probability that a corner call, or a Tim Horton's, or a gas station customer would be scooped by a vacant taxi. This failure of government taxicab regulation fueled the popularity of app-based dispatch systems where the customer could track the progress of their cab, even if HE ended up not arriving either.)
In other words, computerization of taxicab dispatch did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to increase the efficiency of matching of riders with drivers. In fact, it led to increased confusion and a significant waste of money, time, and gasoline, along with public and customer frustration.
But it did save money for the brokers, who pay neither for the glitchy hardware and software, the wasted time, nor the gasoline wasted by their hapless operators.
Again, it did squat for the operators.
AND EVEN WORSE!
It involved the installation of distractive devices in every taxicab, which led to a higher risk of death and injury on the roads. This is indisputable. ("Three seconds. That's all it takes.")
If the phony politicians and other interest groups, like Uber-partner MADD Canada, REALLY gave a shit about SAFETY they would be calling for a total ban on ALL distractive taxi dispatch technologies and a call for the return to the minimally distractive two-way radio system of taxicab dispatch.
I've been harping on this distractive technology angle for ten years now, even before Uber existed.
I am still waiting for someone to say, "He's right, you know!"
Saturday, February 18, 2017
Uber, Update - 19, February, 2017
"You don't push people around without some people pushing back."
Distracted Driving
An exploration of dangerous "distractive" technology, its use in Uber (and any other) taxis, and why, oh why, is MADD Canada shilling for Uber?
Labor Strife
The explosion in the number of cabs on the streets is hurting amateur Uber cabbies as much as it is hurting their professional counterparts.
Uber and Ola drivers in India are now aggressively demanding better pay and working conditions.
see here.
Toronto Uber drivers are starting to turn on each other because of the squeeze market saturation is putting on them.
Licensed cab drivers are not the only victims of Uber's "business model."
Hyderabad Uber Driver Suicide Adds Fuel To Protests For Better Pay.
See also, Uber driver ends life in Hyderabad, family says he was under pressure to pay car EMI.
“They are increasing the number of cabs in the city but the number of customers have not changed."
From the Stranger Danger File:
Victim sexually assaulted by Kingston man pretending to be car-sharing driver.
“On February 11, 2017 in the late evening hours the victim was in the downtown district with friends at a bar. The victim had a friend call for a car-sharing service to take her home. The victim later approached vehicles outside of the bar looking for her driver. (italics - mine)
The accused claimed he was her driver and the victim got into his car." (italics - mine)
Meanwhile, clueless politicians continue to make critical decisions based upon purely fictional imaginings of how the world really works.
According to an article in the London Free Press, (see here) a London Councilor said, "But the ride-sharing app that Uber uses means drivers and passengers already know each other even before they meet, and they rate each other as well — and that’s enough of a safety measure."
Yeah, right!
Update: February 19, 2017. The Councilor quoted in the LFP article sent me an email denying that he ever said what the LFP reported. "Btw, with respect to the quote you have attributed to me in your blog... I never said that," in which case I apologize to the Councilor. I consider it entirely possible that this could be just another example of the epidemic of fake news we have been hearing so much about lately. Still, if it wasn't that councilor's quote, it adequately represents the kind of nonsense we keep hearing from too many pro-Uber politicians.
By the way, having a sticker in the window provides scant protection to vulnerable riders. Anyone can buy Uber stickers from Amazon.com.
Uber Question
What will happen to used car buyers when Uber drivers sell their vehicles?
"Thing is back in september i had a midsize american sedan and it use to burn normalish gas. I pay $4.2k for it used for 3 months, sold it for the same amount. What I lost was like 3 oil changes and the Tax ($800) and gas ofc but thats it. It had 200k klicks when i had it. It never had any problems. I made profit, enough to buy a full size executive. But with a full size executive, the gas increases, i still make a little profit."
I wonder if this guy informed the buyer that his car had been used as a taxi?
Finally, a message from Uberman:
Please comment below and share widely.
Let Travis, and the world, know who the real asshole is.
Okay, enough of that.
Saturday, February 11, 2017
Is a Cheap Cab Ride really worth the Risks
MADD Canada is now promoting Distracted Driving.
"Saying she would never drink and drive, Sarah Milburn climbed into a Honda Odyssey after a birthday celebration, which soon ran a red light and crashed into a Ford F-150 pickup. She and her parents are now suing Uber, Honda, the Uber driver, and the owner of the van he drove (who allegedly was uninsured!) <italics - mine>. [source]
“Millions of people trust Uber with their lives, and they obviously aren’t doing it the right way,” she alleged in the Dallas News.
"Also in early January, a 24-year-old Austin woman who has been rendered a quadriplegic, is suing her Uber driver, and Uber after the car she was traveling in was T-boned in an intersection."
Hmmm..... T-boned? Didn't I just see something about that?
"But in the case of this woman, she inherited it. She didn't pay a dime for it. (the taxi plate.)
And besides, these medallions are supposed to be a license for a car to be used as a taxi. They were never intended to be investment instruments."
jfr1 wrote,
"No, but her parents did, with the intention of being able to sell at any point, or pass down that value to their kids.
These medallions are not pure "investment instruments", they're not GICs, TDs, mortages, etc. They're licenses to operate a business in a restricted market... not substantially different than a Tim Hortons franchise. That business includes purchasing a car, outfitting it for taxi-use, and either driving it, or employing specially licensed drivers to operate it on your behalf. That's what they get used for.
Obviously, any time you invest in a business, it carries risk; however, no amount of due diligence could've predicted that the city and law enforcement would all of a sudden one day simply fail to enforce the laws of society; without us having gone to a zombie apocalypse. "
The reason libertarianism appealed to me in the first place is because I don't like seeing people being bullied or defrauded.
I have spent a great big chunk of my life studying, and promoting, the libertarian philosophy without a single penny's worth of compensation.
My old man used to be so frustrated with my lack of material ambition. I would be sitting back on the couch, reading Ayn Rand, or Reason Magazine, and he would look at me with disgust.
"You know, if you spent half as much time thinking about your future income prospects, you would be highly successful."
Yeah, "but if you're not doing one thing, you're doing something else," as my late friend Jay Speiger said. In economics, they call it, "opportunity cost."
So sure. My dad was right. If I had followed his advice I might, today, have a much newer car, and own a house rather than renting one.
I still wrestle with whether I made the right choice.
People ask me, "why are you pissing in the wind with your obsession with Uber?"
For the same reasons given above.
And to add insult to injury, this political xxxxx-ball actually has the nerve to brag about his participation in this criminal political scam....
Thursday, February 9, 2017
What a couple of haughty clowns these two fools are. I've never heard of Professor Giroux, (should I have?) but as a cab driver, I have met thousands of McMaster students over the last several decades. When it comes to politics, economics, history, social policy, racial and ethnic politics, they are the dumbest bunch of brainwashed idiots of all of my passengers. People who have real jobs tend to be much more connected to the REAL WORLD. They have real problems to solve in their own lives. They are getting a REAL EDUCATION. The knowledge they accumulate has actual APPLICATIONS.
Which is not to say that I have not actually met one or two Mac students who surprised the hell out of me by their comprehension of the real issues. They were obviously not Prof. Geroux's students, or, if they were, they were probably getting real shitty grades. One young person told me he feels the need to keep his opinions to himself, for fear of the overwhelming backlash. I guess he was one of the "Owellians" Professor Geroux disrespects.
And yes, *I* would have voted for Donald Trump enthusiastically, but NOT for any of the reasons this bozo "Professor" lists. He's talking out of his asshole. (Reminds me of a "so-called" judge.)
I was so impressed by Prof. Geroux's ability to be completely wrong, about everything, that I almost launched into one of my famous rants (famous to my one fan) but, nobody reads them. And judging from the number of hits this youtube conversation has received (25 so far,) even less would read them here. (Although, I intend to cross-post this video along with my comments to facebook and twitter to see if it gives them more traffic.)
In the sidebar, I see a 10 minute talk by Prof. Geroux, entitled, "Neoliberalism, Youth, and Social Justice," but, if he is as clueless as this interview clearly demonstrates, then it would be a complete waste of time. Still, it beckons. What other nonsense does he spout? It reminds me of another alleged "fascist's" admonition,
"Don't bother to examine a folly? Just ask yourself what it accomplishes."
It's a shame, really. Professor Geroux might have found a calling in life that was actually useful. Instead, he gets paid for spewing nothing but formulaic, crypto-commie horseshit. But, my guess would be that his "higher education" was subsidized by taxpayers. Go figger.
"Orwell would be rolling over in his grave." My ass.
