Everything would be more efficient and safer if regulated by a transparent, centralized public body, at least initially. Where that line is drawn differs everywhere. There is also still a cost to every one of these regulations, it doesn't just go away, it gets paid by everyone. Sure it's lower because there's supposedly no profit margin on public services although they often outsource this kind of thing to a private body anyway. The poorest might then just be priced out of the service entirely, which is some of the reason why people don't use cab services. What exactly are you regulating anyway? People choosing to associate with each other? Can you regulate away private discovery of independent labor? They've been trying for years now to define "driver" without stepping on too many toes. If you pay your neighbor to drop you kids off, does he have to be regulated?
I think mandating the public disclosure of certain private information in business dealings that may be sensitive like this would help a lot. eg. whether or not and to what extent your drivers are vetted. If you don't have the information available to make a decision, then you can't make an educated one. However, simply mandating everything around paid driving makes people less cautious of the decisions they make. That's partly why people are so cavalier with their private information or what's in their food. They just assume everything is harmless. Arguing that doctors have to be licensed because they perform medical procedures is one thing, arguing that home decorators need to be because they might put furniture in front of a fire exist, quite another.
I wasn't speaking about doing away with the FDA here nor some hokey far-right field libertarian dream scenario. I'm not going to defend the straw-man and I think the hyperbole is unnecessary. This comes down to people wanting to pay an individual for an otherwise legal service. I just think we should let the person decide who and when to give their money to someone, even if they discover them online. I'm not advocating no-knowledge or low-knowledge services, I'm just saying they exist because people want them.
I think mandating the public disclosure of certain private information in business dealings that may be sensitive like this would help a lot. eg. whether or not and to what extent your drivers are vetted. If you don't have the information available to make a decision, then you can't make an educated one. However, simply mandating everything around paid driving makes people less cautious of the decisions they make. That's partly why people are so cavalier with their private information or what's in their food. They just assume everything is harmless. Arguing that doctors have to be licensed because they perform medical procedures is one thing, arguing that home decorators need to be because they might put furniture in front of a fire exist, quite another.
I wasn't speaking about doing away with the FDA here nor some hokey far-right field libertarian dream scenario. I'm not going to defend the straw-man and I think the hyperbole is unnecessary. This comes down to people wanting to pay an individual for an otherwise legal service. I just think we should let the person decide who and when to give their money to someone, even if they discover them online. I'm not advocating no-knowledge or low-knowledge services, I'm just saying they exist because people want them.