Really? Remind me again which pirate was sentenced to death, life imprisonment without possibility of parole, or even life imprisonment.

Oh, that never happened? Thought not.

I didn't say anything about dumping on a neighbors property, I said polluting the air and water. And until the last 50 years or so, such polluting was NOT criminal, it was the normal way of life. It only became criminal when a LAW was passed (see how that works). Why was such a law passed? Because it was decided that the right of the population in general to have clean air and water was MORE IMPORTANT than the right of some people to choose to have cheap products, or the right of some people to make a profit/be in a business that they want to.

Similarly, in the past there was no regulation of taxi service. This lead to highly unscrupulous practices (such a rates that change at the whim of the driver), dangerous vehicles (that a race-to-the-bottom inevitably produces), dangerous driving (like trying to beat a competitor to a fare), and just plain unseemly behavior (like cabbies fighting over fares). As such, a LAW was passed. Why was a law passed? Because it was decided that the right of the population to have a safe and reliable taxi service was MORE IMPORTANT to the functioning of a city than the rights of a few people to make a profit.

What you are describing is called unrestricted free market, and it has never worked anywhere.

Protectionism is trying to protect an industry. This is not protectionism, as they are not trying to protect an industry, they are trying to ensure a needed service is available and well-functioning.

I guess you have some reading problems, because I specifically mentioned the 260 million people who USE taxis in NYC each year as being the ones who are affected. That IS 'all of society'.

And before you make some stupid claim that 'things are different now', I would like to point out that Uber already has wildly varying rates (surge pricing, anyone), and has already been caught doing any number of unscrupulous things (like creating fake fares, insisting it is not responsible for what its drivers do, making the drivers responsible for the vehicles, etc). No, a stupid 'review' does not solve any of those.

The article is about NYC cabs and Uber.

If the number has been scratched off it will be found at inspection. Same with seatbelts. Trips are recorded and reviewed by the T&LC. Do the things you suggest and get fined. Do it enough and lose your medallion. In NYC there is no charge for luggage in the interior or in the trunk.

The user sees the license so he knows that the person has a valid taxi license. Having a valid taxi license means things like he has not been convicted of a crime.

There is no area of the economy that has a 10x (let alone 50x) fluctation in price during the course of a day. Most areas would not see a 10x fluctuation in price over a decade. And when, by law, 3/4 of the cabs are on the streets at all times, there is no need for surge pricing.

What you do is call the taxi commission, the number of which is prominently displayed (by law), including in braille and raised letters, in the cab. Who do you call when Uber 'accidentaly' charges the wrong rate?

The problem with that thinking is that nothing happens in a vacuum. You make it sound like Uber and the people who chose it have no impact on everyone else. When Uber comes in and gets to cherry-pick only profitable rides, and otherwise lower their price (by not doing all the things that regular cabs must do) that means the traditional cabs are not getting that business. They can't survive with their regulated rates and must-carry rules, time required on the road, etc. if they only get the unprofitable trips. That impacts not only the cab companies, but everyone who uses them, which is a whole lot more people than use Uber (236 million people per year in NYC).

If someone owns a factory they don't get to say 'yeah, everybody else has to obey EPA rules, etc, but those rules are really just to protect the existing factories, and my customers live somewhere else and don't care anyway, so we declare ourselves exempt from the law and will just dump waste into the rivers and air'. This is the same thing.

Yes, for prototyping printing makes sense. However, the article talks about this printer replacing injection molding (the example given was for toothbrushes). I am pretty sure nobody today is injection molding a prototype toothbrush, they probably use regular old milling for that. Therefore, the only way the comment makes sense is if they plan on replacing injection molding with printing in production.

The article was comparing yellow cabs to UberX.

Do you actually have any idea at all what the regulations are for taxis? Here are some of the rules that 'only represent one tiny class':

Cars must be inspected 3 times a year. This includes safety and cleanliness, and accessibility.
Must have a rate card with FIXED (regulated) fares (none of this surge pricing nonsense) that the fares can see
All drivers must have valid Taxicab Drivers Licenses
Must have minimum $200,000 insurance per person
Must provide workers compensation coverage for drivers
Must operate each cab a minimum of 18 hours a day (again, none of this 'I'll only drive if the rates are high enough' crap)
Drivers must be trained for wheelchair passenger assistance (owner of the cab must pay for the training)
Must have braille and raised lettering plaques with the same info as the rate card (fares, complaint line, taxi ID)
Drivers license must be displayed in a lighted frame
Must have accurate taximeter
Must have operable air conditioning

What a complete and total pile of crap.

The average age of a NYC taxi is 3.3 years. They MUST be replaced after 6 years.

You can not call a yellow cab in NYC. Since you can't call one, your BS about one not showing up is false. You CAN call for a town car, which WILL show up, and has the same age limits as a regular cab, and WILL be a Lincoln Town Car or equivalent.

I don't know where you get your 'facts' from about Uber, but you sure as hell don't normally get a higher-end car or SUV. You usually get a Prius or Camry or something of that ilk.

How much did the printer cost compared to an injection molder? How much is the maintenance on a complicated printer compared to a simple injection molder?

If 3D printing is so damn cheap, then use the printer to make the mold.

According to the WHO, what you are describing is 'heavy episodic drinking', which is defiined as '60 or more grams of pure alcohol consumed on one occasion in the last 30 days'.

In France (by your accounting nobody there does heavy episodic drinking), 43.7% of male drinkers (or 42.2% of the entire male population) engage in heavy episodic drinking. France has the lowest (worst) score for years life shortened by alcohol.

In the US (by your account, all drinkers are heavy episodic drinkers), 30.9% of male drinkers (or 23.2% of the entire male population) engage in heavy episodic drinking.

My father-in-law died of alcoholism. He was never passed out, he was never falling-down drunk, he was never in bar fights. He had built up such a tolerance to alcohol that it seemed to have no effect on him. Nevertheless, that is NOT 'drinking in moderation'.

Maybe it is time to adjust your ever-so-wrong stereotypes and definition of what 'moderation' means.

OK, I'll bite. Which of those shows a lack of freedom?

Well now I am very confused. Above I thought you were doing good old America bashing about how we were 'more restricted' than Germany, but here you are admitting that other people also have rights which may be in conflict with yours. So which is it? Is America really 'more restricted', or are we in fact freer? Frankly, I do not see any way that a country which has no actual laws against free speech, but which does respect the rights that others may have is 'more restricted' than a country which has actual laws against certain speech, unless you consider free speech to be the ONLY right worth having.