jeff, great piece. it would be interesting to see how much the people who own the biggest percentages of medallions pay out in call it whatever you want, campaign contributions, bribery extortion, whatever to the real powers that be at city hall in order to keep things as they are. btw jeff, the atty. for the beleagured cabbies , shannon liss-riordan and her firm, is for this kind of fight, the absolute best representation you can get anyplace anywhere and i say so from experience. ma

Is this really a JJ piece?.. It's not April 1st yet... wow... My only complaint is that you missed the original point of the medallion system, which was to limit the potential abuse of riders by unscrupulous cabbies and to ensure that their isn't a glut of cabs clogging the streets and overwhelming the market for riders... but agree that the system appears somewhat broken when that administrative effort is purchasable... What I'd really like to read however, is JJ's thoughts on how to fix this... do we buy the medallions back or screw the medallion holders outright?.. Interesting opportunity lost to hear a conservative extoll the benefits of better/smarter government rather than simply taking potshots... NPR's 'Planet Money' team did a short report on the NYC Cab Medallion system recently... their podcasts are available at itunes for free... worth a listen...

There's no reason in this day and age for anyone in any developed country to be working under the conditions which these cabbies are suffering. I agree that they should be made into employees of the medallion holders with decent wages and benefits. Additionally perhaps a second tier of medallions for owner-operators without right of resale - more like licenses - would be a way to go too. The only cab I've ridden in lately that was in really first-class condition was an owner-operated one in New York City. That should probably be the direction in which to push: towards owner-operated cabs which would benefit all concerned.

Any time a resale market exists, the city should simply issue more medallions until it disappears. That's how a free market works. The city already sets rates which controls demand, why do they need to control supply? //// Medallions should be readily available, priced only to cover the cost of regular inspections checking on meters, safety, and cleanliness. //// If more medallions were available, most cabbies could become independent businessmen, and not be forced to become wage slaves.

Bravo, Jeff. Your analogy to the Jim Crow South is apt. Notice that many of the cabbies who work their butts off are men of color. If we phased out the medallion system, there would be better taxi service for customers and more income for drivers.

I agree with Jeff about the one sided unfairness of the Medallion $ystem. The problem is that this story repeats itself about every 5 years. Same issues, different author. Unfortunately nothing has been done. A little bluster here, newspaper ink there, and time and the Medallion $ystem rolls on. I hope for two things: 1) that the court case results in an ultimate decision of fairness for the, cabbies 2) that Jeff keep us informed as this case moves, however slowly, with the progress and final denouement. Go Cabbies! Good luck.

How long before we find out which Democrat pols are accepting money to maintain the status quo?

for once i agree. finally a column that has something to do with something and not jsut trashing the opinions of people who have different opinions. more work like this jeff and we just may yet call you a journalist.

Jeff Jacoby has been kidnapped and his column hijacked by some body... how else to explain his defending what he usually defines as low skilled workers and the minimum wage follies...a quote from a previous Jacoby missive."Minimum-wage laws don't make low- and unskilled Americans more productive, more experienced, or more desirable. They merely make them more expensive - and more likely, therefore, to be unemployed." Perhaps silly Jeff has had some kind of epiphany.