George Will: Minneapolis taxi cartel

George F. Will: If Minneapolis taxi argument wins the day, watch out

Comment: Did you know that a taxi medallion in NYC costs $ 500,000? Why should government limit supply (in this case taxis)? A good article on Minneapolis government statism.

Excerpt:

Attracted by Minneapolis-St. Paul's vibrant Hispanic community, now 130,000 strong, Paucar moved here, assuming that economic liberty would be more spacious than in New York. Unfortunately, Minnesota has a "progressive," meaning statist, tradition that can impede the progress of people like Paucar.

The regulatory impulse came to the upper Midwest with immigrants from Northern Europe. In the 1940s, under a mayor who soon would take his New Deal liberalism to Washington -- Hubert Humphrey -- the city capped entry into the taxi business.

By the time Paucar got here in 1999, 343 taxis were permitted. He wanted to launch a fleet of 15. That would have required him to find 15 license-holders willing to sell for up to $25,000 apiece.