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Texas Legislature Clears Road For Uber and Lyft To Return To Austin (austinmonitor.com)
schwit1 shared this article from the Austin Monitor:
The Texas Legislature has cleared the road for Uber and Lyft to return to Austin on their own terms. On Wednesday, the state Senate overwhelmingly approved House Bill 100 on second and third readings, sending the statewide ride-hailing regulations to Governor Greg Abbott's desk for his signature. If Abbott signs it, as he is expected to do, the new law will preempt regulations City Council passed in December 2015 that both Uber and Lyft deemed too restrictive on transportation network companies such as themselves.
The new rules still require criminal background checks, but drop the requirement for fingerprinting. "We find it unfortunate that the 36 lobbyists deployed by the Silicon Valley giants were effective in convincing the State Legislature that there was a need to overrule the Austin voters," said a local ride-sharing company, which vowed to continue operating -- and to at least continue fingerprinting their own drivers. Houston's mayor complained the new statewide rules handed down are "another example of the legislature circumventing local control to allow corporations to profit at the expense of public safety."
The new rules still require criminal background checks, but drop the requirement for fingerprinting. "We find it unfortunate that the 36 lobbyists deployed by the Silicon Valley giants were effective in convincing the State Legislature that there was a need to overrule the Austin voters," said a local ride-sharing company, which vowed to continue operating -- and to at least continue fingerprinting their own drivers. Houston's mayor complained the new statewide rules handed down are "another example of the legislature circumventing local control to allow corporations to profit at the expense of public safety."
Now all the poor people can "side hustle" their life away!
Uber is a steaming pile of shit. Lyft no so much. Transportation should be a municipal service. There's millions of dollars in municipal revenue they're throwing away..
Republicans voting in favor of the interests of big corporations. How shocking...
Houston's mayor complained the new statewide rules handed down are "another example of the legislature circumventing local control to allow corporations to profit at the expense of public safety."
Yeah come to Houston, see the paradise. Apparently Sylvester doesn't see the irony in complaining about public safety given the state of the surface streets in Houston. And suddenly Houston is a big believer in local control when there is ideology and politics at stake. Previously they had no problem ceding control to state and federal levels when it suited them. Finally Houston wouldn't exist on anyone's map without oil & gas and refining which put a lot of people's public safety at risk.
Doing this harms the taxi industry. We should support people that work to support their families rather than people wealthy enough to own a newish car that are just trying to make even more money.
Yay. Now maybe they'll stop astroturfing literally every Austin online presence.
"another example of the legislature circumventing local control to allow corporations to profit at the expense of public safety."
As opposed to taxi mafia bribing the legislature to profit at the expense of the public?
Uber might have its flaws, but they're strictly better than taxi corporations (for everyone who's not a member of the taxi mafia, doesn't profit from selling medallions/etc, and doesn't get bribes^Wcampaign donation from said mafia).
The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
It's quite frustrating to read, multiple times, how state government continues to override local municipalities. Another instance is in regards to city fracking ordinances. It's also worrisome that Texas has done nothing to reduce the bribes...sorry..I meant to say campaign contributions and the conflicts of interests that exist in the state senate. God, I just sent can't get enough of small government!
State legislators continue to show that their concern for local government doesn't extend downwards from their own level.
The Federal level is too high, the city level is too low. The state level is just right: the "Goldilocks" level.
The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
to drown in a bathtub comes to mind. My experience is that nobody's really opposed to the government telling people what to do; just so long as they already wanted to do it.
Me? I see strong governments as inevitable; so instead of hunkering down and trying to make it go away I'm with Bernie et al and want to make it do good. It's like fire or, hell, nuclear power. Once it's out there you can't put the cat back in the bag. Better to just take control of it.
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"The $1.6 trillion Texas economy is the second biggest in the U.S., behind only California" https://www.forbes.com/places/tx/
Good luck with that without Texas California and New York.. the use would pretty much be a third world country
You can still take taxis in Austin if Uber scares you too much!
Choice is freedom, no need for your tiny minds!
by definition a strong government cannot be controled. Why? B'cos it's strong and will do wtf is best for its aparatchiks. Wosh. Give a monkey power and what do you think it will do with it? The West weren't dictatorships because they didn't want to be.
The legislature didn't circumvent anything. They wielded the constitutional authority they have to regulate you as a subordinate political entity. If you want the sort of autonomy the states have against the federal government, then put forth a draft proposal for a state constitution that provides it.
This sort of shit is exactly why Texas sucks. They say they're mostly republicans who idealize small government then have nothing but pedantic laws and government overreach at every corner. As long as you call yourself a Christian, capitalist, and conservative you can do whatever the fuck you want to here, hypocrisy is the Texan way.
That's totally bananas!
Bananas!
"You should never doubt what nobody is sure about." -- Willy Wonka
What's a "taxi mafia"? Is that like... a mix of Taxi Driver with The Godfather?
Uber might have its "flaws" -- insignificant crimes, disrespect for the law and other illegal activity -- but at least it's not a mafi-- wait.
Waiiiit.
Illegal activity... That's what the mafia does! But the mafia does it in an organized fashion... Like a corporation. But they do it while operating above the law.
And Uber doesn't operate above the law. It just changes the law. Like in a South America banana republic. The Uber States of America banana republic.
But really, you guys, it's the taxi mafia! They're out to get us! RUN! With your feet! Because Uber is just as shitty, if not shittier, than getting a cab!
"You should never doubt what nobody is sure about." -- Willy Wonka
they never prohibited. uber left on its own.
I'm pro free market, and pro-uber, but I'm opposed to bigger governments having the authority to override local governments.
Secession is the right of all sentient beings.
Oh. I see. They only love it when the Federal Government is instituting something they disagree with. Then it's all "States' rights!" and "Founding fathers!" But when it comes to conservatives imposing their will, they don't give a shit about the will of local political majorities.
How convenient for them.
/. cut off (shortened) my title without any indication while writing it. It was:
But. But. But I thought conservatives LOVE/cherish local control.
I wish one could edit posts as can be done in other comment systems.
When it comes to the federal government, states should have more power. When it comes to local government, states should have more power. This seems perfectly straightforward, consistent, and exactly what any reasonable person would expect a state government to believe. Why are you confused?
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
Why? Every time a Federal law is passed that conservatives don't like they trot out the "States' Rights" flag and wave it around using the defintion of States' Rights to be the idea that local people are better able to govern themselves than some remote beast of a government in D.C. The same principle should hold true at the state level vs. counties and municipalities. Austin is a drop of Liberal society in a sea of rednecks and is surely better able to govern itself than a bunch of hicks representing other areas. What's good for the goose, etc.etc.
Maybe there's a clue in the first word of "States' Rights".
Austin is a drop of Liberal society in a sea of rednecks and is surely better able to govern itself than a bunch of hicks representing other areas.
Ah, a bigot.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
Uber forced an election, which the citizens of Austin had to pay for, and then lost even though they set a record for dollars spent per vote. Then they abandoned their drivers, they abandoned their customers, and they took their ball and went home. Then they sent people to the legislature to pay bribes (lobby) and found some upstanding Republicans against big government to interfere with the will of the citizens. Fuck Uber, we're doing fine without them.
Ah, yes... Governor Greg Abbott, he of Jade Helm fame... activating the state militia to protect Texas from Obama's imminent invasion.
What a tool.
As anybody with even a slight familiarity with Uber and Lyft knows, this argument about criminal checks vs fingerprinting is really about illegals trying to earn a living.
Illegal immigrants and people on student and tourist visas with no U.S. work permit go to Uber, undergo a "criminal check"and drive for a living. A criminal check finds nothing because the person has no record at all. A fingerprint check to NCIS would show the person doesn't match the ID or is a visa-overstayer.
None of these companies use the Federal secure ID system to see if the prospective "contractor" has a right to work in the U.S. They already know the answer. Cheap illegal labor is at the core of the Uber business model.
Either the Texas legislature is full of really dumb people or they are the usual country club Republicans who want cheap, docile servants. I live in Texas. They may be lazy but they aren't dumb. Illegal are dirt cheap and don't talk back like American Blacks do.
If Uber had to depend on American drivers they would be so short of drivers they would have to raise driver payments and prices- which would drive them out of business in short order..
For the record I know people working for Uber on the "sign up new drivers" end and they live on bonuses and commissions. They know the score and that the drivers are not legally allowed to contract with Uber. This is just like the Wells Fargo scandal- employees are given financial incentives to get results and management looks the other way.
Also the number of Uber "drivers" who seem to be working 23 hours/day would suggest they are "hot bunking" the cars and IDs- three guys using one car and one ID.
This is a scam. Yo, Justice Department; subpoena the "criminal check" records from Uber in one city as a test and see how many of the drivers are using real names and are here working legally. Then use the usual conspiracy charges to work your way up the Uber chain to see how far the scam goes.
Like how the courts overrode the people's will in California over Prop 8.
by mega corps. That's what "Small enough to drown in a bathtub" means. It's why it took our Federal Government stepping in to make the Civil Rights movement happen.
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to understand there's a difference between socialism and fascism. There might be hope for you yet kiddo.
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