Gov't Forces Businesses to Overcharge Customers

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Aug. 28, 2013

Consumers and entrepreneurs--not the government--should decide how much a ride from a car service should cost. Consumers need the government protecting them from affordable prices as much as they need a government agency protecting them from pillows that are too soft. Government-imposed minimum-fare rules don't help consumers. All they do is increase costs, stifle innovation and protect industry insiders from competition--hardly a wise or constitutional use of government power. Tampa is one of only a handful of places where a minimum fare law like this is imposed, in this case by the Hillsborough County Public Transportation Commission: Most jurisdictions recognize that consumers don't need the government's protection from low prices. It is unconstitutional for Hillsborough County Public Transportation Commission to harm consumers by forcing them to be overcharged. It is also unconstitutional for this county agency to harm small business owners by preventing them from growing their businesses and creating jobs by offering better values to their customers.

http://www.ij.org/TampaFares