Taxi cab ride along
Manchester aldermen get to set taxi fares even though the aldermen know nothing about running a taxi business. They don’t have a clue how much a driver needs to make to earn a decent living, what a “fair” rate is, etc. But nonetheless they have empowered themselves to dictate what the fares in Manchester will be.
When aldermen mess with police budgets, the department offers to let them ride along with an officer to see what it’s really like out there. Mayors Baines and Guinta did that, and they said they found it very informative. A friend of mine suggested to me that aldermen should do the same with taxis. Before they go on about how much taxi drivers should be allowed to earn, they should have to spend a day riding with a cab driver. Maybe they’d develop a greater understanding of the business and a greater appreciation for how difficult it is to make a living driving a cab.
I’d even expand that to other businesses and other levels of government. Would legislators be so quick to pass health insurance mandates if they saw all the red tape health insurers have to put up with every day? Would they be so quick to ban smoking in bars and restaurants if they had to manage a restaurant for a day, or raise cigarette taxes if they had to run a convenience store? I doubt it. Firsthand experience is a wonderful teacher.
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