WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio its September 2018 Porker of the Month for signing a bill into law that would halt the ride-sharing revolution in New York City.
On August 8, 2018, the New York City Council voted to freeze new licenses for Uber and Lyft drivers for one year. New York is the first city in the nation to impose this type of cap. The council also voted to regulate drivers’ pay. The stated basis behind these harsh regulatory measures is to study how ride-hailing apps affect traffic congestion, as well as ease the financial pressure on the taxicab industry, subways, and buses. However, after the vote, Speaker Corey Johnson (D-Manhattan) admitted, “This is not going to solve the problem.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio has lamented, “the unchecked growth of app-based for-hire vehicle companies,” as if Uber and Lyft were toxic poisons. The biggest winner in Mayor de Blasio’s war on Uber and Lyft are taxicabs. Not surprisingly, New York’s taxicab industry has contributed more than $100,000 to his mayoral campaigns, opting for political posturing over modernizing its own business. While the mayor props up this sclerotic cartel, the city’s residents will lose affordable and convenient transportation or a steady part-time job.
CAGW President Tom Schatz said, “For a so-called progressive politician, Mayor de Blasio certainly does not like new innovations that help working class New Yorkers. Cities around the nation should encourage ride-sharing to flourish, not enact restrictions that stifle progress.”
For trying to extinguish twenty-first century innovations like ride-sharing, CAGW names Mayor Bill de Blasio its September 2018 Porker of the Month.
Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. Porker of the Month is a dubious honor given to lawmakers, government officials, and political candidates who have shown a blatant disregard for the interests of taxpayers.
