Shot in the Dark

Theory

A significant chunk of the far-left clacque that runs politics in the metro are Marxists, either overtly or under the hood.

And an amazing number of them subscribe to the “Labor Theory of Value” – the idea that labor, as opposed to the other three factors (Capitol, Management and Land) is the dispositive factor of production.

I have been challenging adherents for years – test the theory by taking a group of fast food workers, plopping them on a vacant lot, and seeing if a Hardee’s springs up around them.

It’s an absurd test – exactly the one the theory deserves.

I used to say nobody had taken the challenge.

But it appears that, at least indirectly, someone just might.

Posted

in

, ,

by

Mitch Berg

Tags:

Comments

11 responses to “Theory”

  1. bosshoss429 Avatar
    bosshoss429

    Yea, I’m convinced that this whole push for higher wages for the Uber and Lyft drivers, is being driven by cab companies donating to the campaigns of the city clowncil members.

  2. John "Bigman" Jones Avatar
    John “Bigman” Jones

    The stenographer who transcribed the driver’s press release (can’t call him a journalist or reporter since he obviously did no research of his own to verify the driver’s claims) lists a few of the start-up requirements such as licenses and insurance but missed the most obvious one: the app.

    Nobody rides Uber because of its Minneapolis city license. People use Uber because of the cell phone app. It allows the customer to pick a time and location, allows drivers to choose whether to accept the fare based on rating of the customer, displays the route, handles the billing, and pays the driver. This isn’t software you download for free from Google Play and run on a server in your bathroom at home. It’s a major investment and a bunch of scruffy drivers has neither the expertise nor the capital for it.

    So the DFL will have to do it for them through government grants to minority-owned businesses, funded by state and city diversity outreach programs and supplemented by generous contributions from the same sort of corporate givers who fund the Guthrie. Naturally, the scruffy drivers will need experienced managers with political connections when setting up the Board of Directors of their new organization, which the DFL will be only too glad to provide by recycling DFL bureaucrats and former legislators. Might be run under the umbrella of the Met Council along with busses and trains, it’s a perfect spot for another financial sinkhole.

  3. Greg Avatar
    Greg

    John, your analysis is spot on – except for one detail.

    Once the DFL/Union/NGO graft is in place, either Uber or Lyft will gladly slap a new smiley face on their app and service the enterprise for a fee.

    Think about it from their perspective. No risk, no liability, no bad press, no shake downs, just a happy transaction fee for a captured market.

    It might be a whole new direction for them.

  4. Greg Avatar
    Greg

    Back in the day, one of my business professors proclaimed that there were only three business strategies:

    1) Compete on cost.
    2) Compete on quality.
    3) Compete on satisfying a niche.

    A guy in the back of the room, who I swear looked a lot like Rodney Dangerfield. shot back, “No, there is a fourth.”

    “What’s that?” the professor wanted to know.

    “Have the government make the consumer buy your product.”

    Think cabs, septic systems, building material and electric cars.

  5. John "Bigman" Jones Avatar
    John “Bigman” Jones

    Greg, I agree it’s theoretically possible, but how would that plan convert independent contractor Uber drivers into state employees paying union dues to be donated to DFL campaigns?

  6. Pig Bodine Avatar
    Pig Bodine

    the mpls city council will contract with the State DVS IT personnel who gave us MNLARS(for $97m) to create a product called CRAP (City Ride APp) that will be ready in 4.5 years for just less than $47million.

  7. Greg Avatar
    Greg

    John,

    Independent drivers would never go for the scheme, but how many illegal/undocumented/refugee/immigrants with legal drivers licenses has the state imported in just the last month?

  8. Greg Avatar
    Greg

    Pig Bodine,

    It’s been almost ten years since the MNLARS disaster. Don’t you think the state/DFL has learned lessons since then?

    Best triple your numbers.

  9. Night Writer Avatar
    Night Writer

    I just spent six weeks in Merida, Yucatan. Uber is there, but there is a competitor called DiDi. Works just the same as Uber with an app and a map showing where your driver is. The difference is that you can’t use a credit card; all transactions are cash at drop-off because nobody – consumers, businesses, even banks – trusts checks and credit cards in Mexico.

    DiDi is very affordable; you can get just about anywhere for less than $5 USD, even with tip. Most of our trips were $2-3. (I did get tired of squeezing into the back seats of a seemingly endless series of Chevy Aveos, though.) A quirk is that drivers are typically registered with both Uber and DiDi – but DiDi pays the drivers a little more per trip. You can book an Uber, but if the driver gets a better DiDi call on the way, he’ll cancel your trip in favor of the DiDi ride.

  10. bosshoss429 Avatar
    bosshoss429

    Greg,

    Your assessment is probably closer to the truth.

    Commandant Klink was giving glowing reviews of the new high school in Owatonna where he spouted his bags of crap.

    A friend of mine was a contractor on that project. He decried the waste of money on that structure and said that the gubmint apparatchiks involved, were looking for ways to spend money on stupid stuff.

  11. FRESCHFISCH Avatar
    FRESCHFISCH

    I hope they try.
    I hope they put their house up as collateral on that business loan.
    I hope they pay quarterly taxes.
    I hope they follow all the city and state requirements for having a business.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.