You shouldn’t have to ask permission from ANYONE to work or start a business

We at the Rio Grande Foundation supported efforts to dergulate New Mexico’s motor carrier industry which includes taxi cabs and all manner of motorized, public transport. Unfortunately, our definition of “deregulate” is different from the Democrat-controlled Legislature’s. True “deregulation” means that as long as I am operating in a safe manner, I should be able to get into a specific business. Under the Legislature’s warped definition, “deregulation” still means having hearings at the Public Regulation Commission to determine whether there is a “need” for a particular service.

See this recent article from the Albuquerque Journal which describes efforts by two companies to enter the motor carrier business, one as a taxi service in Albuquerque and the other to give tours of sites used in the filming of the show “Breaking Bad.”

Unfortunately, as the Journal reports, despite last year’s modest reduction in the regulatory stranglehold of certain incumbent cab companies, you still need to get the PRC’s blessing before going into business. This kills jobs and economic growth. At a time when New Mexico’s economy is struggling worse than almost any other state, we need real, broad deregulation not just of motor carriers, but of a wide variety of activities. Overcoming the entrenched special interests won’t be easy, but it is essential to New Mexico getting out of 50th place on so many economic measures.