Be careful whom you help

I saved the article almost a month ago, and, even though it concerned just one man being fined by his government, I just couldn't get the story out of my craw. It angered me when I read it, and it angers me still. I'm aware that there are thousands of instances every day of citizens being "tagged" by silly government laws, regulations, codes, and ordnances, but this one stands out.

The story concerns "Miami-Dade County's Consumer Services Department". Consumer Services sounds like a group that might make life easier or safer, doesn't it? Well, anything but. Take a quick read of the short article.

Man Accused Of Providing Illegal Taxi Service

78-Year-Old Says He Was Just Being Kind

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- A man who said he thought he was just helping a woman in need is accused of running an illegal taxi service. Miami-Dade County's Consumer Services Department has slapped Rosco O'Neil with $2,000 worth of fines, but O'Neil claims he is falsely accused. "I ain't running nothing illegal," O'Neil said.

The 78-year-old said he was walking into a Winn-Dixie to get some groceries when he was approached by a woman who said she needed a ride. "She asked me, 'Do I do a service?'" O'Neil said. "I told her no. She said, 'I need help getting home.'" O'Neil told the woman if she was still there when he finished his shopping, he would give her a ride. She was, so he did.

As it turned out, the woman was an undercover employee with the consumer services department targeting people providing illegal taxi services. "She said the reason she targeted him (is because) she saw him sitting in his car for a few minutes," said Ellen Novodeletsky, O'Neil's attorney.

After O'Neil dropped off the woman, police surrounded him, issued him two citations and impounded his minivan. On top of the fees, it cost O'Neil an additional $400 to retrieve his minivan from the impound lot. There are no prior complaints that O'Neil was providing illegal transportation for a fee. "It's not entrapment because she didn't expect him to provide her transportation," said Sonya Perez, a spokeswoman for the consumer services department.

O'Neil claims he was just being kind and providing a ride to a lady in need. "There's all kinds of possibilities, but the fact of this particular case, what our enforcement officers witnessed -- because we had several on the scene, plus a Miami-Dade police officer -- and all the information came back the same, that this was a business transaction," Perez said.

O'Neil said he never even discussed money until the woman insisted upon it. "She asked me, 'How much you charging?'" O'Neil said. "I said, 'Anything you give me.' She said, 'No, I need a price.'"

So. a man goes to the grocery store, minding his own business, and is approached by a woman asking if he could give her a ride home. She asks if he "does a service", and he says he doesn't. She persists. He agrees to give her a ride if she's still there when he's ready to leave after shopping. She was waiting, so he gave her a ride as he promised. She offered to give him some money, and tried to get him to name a price. He said "Anything you give me".

Is there anything about that story to indicate that the 78-year-old man wanted to haul that woman for pay? He tried to avoid it, and then gave in to her insistence. Yet, the undercover operative charged the man for running an illegal taxi service. His vehicle was impounded and fines of $2,000 were levied on him. It seems clear that this man did nothing that most of us would consider wrong in any way; quite the opposite, he was being a good, somewhat reluctant, Samaritan.

I understand why taxi companies push for licensing of operators. It's a way for them to force all of us to use their services whenever we need a ride, and to prevent new competitors from entering the business. Taxi companies can wish and push all they want, with little effect, until they convince government officials to enforce their wishes. Once they convince government to license taxi operators, unlicensed operators naturally become illegal. As it develops in most cities, the government gets revenue from license sales, which are usually limited in numbers, which drives up the cost of licenses, often to many thousands of dollars, which results in fewer taxis, high prices, and poorer service. When the government then takes the step of stopping unlicensed taxi operators, they financially handicap all of us, but when they "go the extra mile" as in this Florida case, and entrap innocent citizens just giving a ride as a favor, they take the damage to a whole new level.

This is government at its worst, and an illustration of why government power of any kind always has bad consequences. Those who first implemented taxi licensing no doubt claimed that they were protecting consumers from fraudulent or unsafe taxi operators. Once licensing is in place, enforcement is required. To not enforce it puts government employees at risk of not doing their job, so they "put some teeth" into enforcement. I have no doubt that the undercover consumer services employee in this case was just "doing her job", which was to be suspicious of anyone who might be running an illegal taxi service. It's a small step from finding someone "guilty" to luring someone into "becoming guilty". It's a natural result of government having the power to license, which is essentially the power to decide who can do what under which circumstances.

Although I despise the undercover agent's entrapment of the man, I am disturbed about what that single event could mean to the rest of us. I enjoy helping others. In most cases, the cost to me is minor, but my help can be quite significant. We all have times in which a small helping hand from someone can make a big difference, and hitching a ride with someone is one of the most common. We all recognize that having a car, maintaining it, insuring it, licensing it, and taking the risk of driving is a not-insignificant expense. When we pool rides, we trade off. When we share a ride with someone, we typically pay for the convenience by covering parking, buying gas, or even contributing a few dollars. In those cases where we don't, we normally remember that we owe that driver a free ride next time.

I doubt that the man entrapped by the undercover "consumer services" operative is likely to ever give a ride to anyone again. Anyone who knows of his story may reach the same conclusion. The fact that doing such a small favor can have such destructive results will naturally lead people to not take the chance. Whenever one of those people refuses to help in a similar situation, the person being refused will naturally be confused and disgusted. and may well conclude that people just aren't as helpful as they once were. Being refused a small assist is likely to change their own attitude about helping others, and that attitude can gradually, silently snowball.

That action taken to stop "illegal taxi services" is an alienation of an important aspect of society - helping each other. It tends to drive us apart, to make each of us feel like we're "in it alone", and to create suspicion of each other.

Government power is the power to choose to favor someone and penalize someone else. Economically, licensing is anti-competitive, creating one group with privilege they buy, at the expense of everyone else. The state of Minnesota is so into licensing that they've pulled together a website called License Minnesota. From this site you can access licensing information on over 500 licenses administered by over 40 state agencies. It displays the many kinds of work you cannot legally do without first jumping through hoops and paying to become one of the privileged.

Original report here



(And don't forget your ration of Wicked Thoughts for today)