Another Taxi Driver in Debt Takes His Life. That’s 5 in 5 Months
nytimes.com
nytimes.com
If the answers to the last two questions are "yes", then I can't help but not have any sympathy for the plight of drivers and the expense of the medallions, especially when I read about taxi customers complaining about rude drivers, credit card machines "not working", having to wait over an hour for a taxi, etc.
The writing is on the wall. It's been on the wall for a couple years now. Taxis as we know it are a dying industry, being replaced by Uber/Lyft/etc.
And good riddance.
The regulation part of the medallion system was to limit cabs cruising the streets looking for pickups. Shuttles, Black cars, and personal drivers were already able to pre-arrange pickups at a specific location`.
Do I think ride sharing blurs this line when cars don't pull on side streets for pick up? sure.
`depending on code
https://www.heritage.org/transportation/report/taxicab-medal...
An incredibly callous attitude to take at what must have been a truly profound sense of anguish and despair experienced by a person known to others as their "beloved father, husband, brother, friend." (Yes, I know you're saying that mostly about the medallion system. But to the extent that that's all that comes to mind when you hear about what happened -- yes, you pretty much are saying that the driver who took his life in this case, as well).
I'm glad the taxi industry as we know it is dying. However, it is a bit tragic that it is ruining the livelihood of taxi drivers on its way out so badly that they're committing suicide.
But is this any different than any other industry being replaced? Certainly we have sympathy for coal miners that have lost their jobs as our chosen sources of energy shift, but should that make us appreciate the shift away from coal and its destruction of our air any less?
And good riddance.
As an anecdote, I attended a bankruptcy proceeding at a federal court in Redding where one woman had a cancer medication pump tube going in her nose. She lost all of her savings and almost everything else due to insurance not covering expenses.. and she’s Stage IV. Imagine involuntarily dying painfully and going broke simultaneously. This is worse than suicide because while otherwise healthy it’s a choice, cancer rarely is.
The contributing factors are:
0. The very, very rich have corrupted government to work primarily in their interests.
1. Technology has increased productivity and eliminated need for as much human effort.
1.5. Oversupply of labor leads to low pay.
2. People remaining in work have lost real wage gains correlatively with the decline in organized labor and rise in desperate workers both domestic and migrants, and as such, employers do nearly whatever they want to employees.
3. Outsourcing and closure of domestic production (globalization).
It will take another Roosevelt to save capitalism with some stabilizing half-measures, or the path is marching towards decline and likely rapidly-precipitating, populist communism like Venezuela. A third option that would work, but will not be considered without some violent and nonviolent force of the people: strong, appropriate regulation, removal of wealth welfare for the rich, fixing the tax code to eliminate loopholes for the rich, non-capitalist-influenced leadership and comprehensive investment in health, wellbeing, social services, UBI and helping workers out of intolerable life situations.
Not to argue with anything else you are saying, just this line:
This is a myth. Suicides are very rarely "otherwise healthy", but are the outcome of a mental illness, such as depression. By the same line, they are not a choice - usually they are the outcome and a symptom of a generally treatable condition.
Suicides, self-harm, attempts or ideation/fantasizing about them are not healthy, and usually aren't a choice, no more than a runny nose is a choice.
If you or someone you know exhibits these symptoms, get help.
<end PSA>
I have an incurable medical condition. I am frequently incredibly miserable. I am frequently suicidal, in part because it is literally the only means to really escape the misery my body inflicts upon me.
I am pro right to die. There are circumstances under which it is cruel to act like wanting to end this situation the only way it can be ended is somehow crazy.
I am still here. I am doing all I can to pursue non-drug alternatives, for which the entire world gives me shit. That also fuels my suicidal ideation because it is such a no win, fuck you situation on so many levels.
But I wish people would not simplify this for some feel good PSA and act like wanting to die is simply evidence you are crazy. It is just not quite that cut and dried.
currently it’s mostly employment rate. low unemployment=good economy, country in good shape. problem with that is it does not represent quality of those employments, if majority is with super low compensation, then this “employment rate” metric is useless. what could be helpful is to define realistic “poverty line” and calculate statistics what is percentage of population above it. then we would see real situation of people’s lives and then it would be easier to discuss whether pleople need UBI (or other safety net) or not.
right now it’s even difficult to start discussion about it because part of population even disagrees that there are many people who need help.