My friend and colleague Caleb Howe already has this up at RedState, but stuff like this irritates the living life out of me:
Short version: (Democratic) DC Council members are putting together a taxi medallion law that will force out independent owner-operator cabbies in DC, in favor of connected cab companies… who will, of course, eagerly rent medallions (at a high markup) to the former independents. Hence, sharecropping: which, as anyone who has read history can tell you, is feudalism without the charm*.
(pause)
Ever get the feeling that the Democratic party leadership kind of misses that entire patron/client thing? – Because they keep coming up with stuff that would bring those days back. Old times, they are not forgotten, indeed.
Moe Lane
*Actually, no, feudalism does have its charms. If you happen to live in a system where its understood that loyalty and responsibility flow both up and down the chain.