While watching the Florida Legislature debate regulation of services like Uber and Lyft statewide, I couldnāt help but think of a pair of quotes discovered as I was looking up something else.
The first quote, from Microsoft founderĀ Bill Gates, came as the House displayed leadership and vision in approving its version of a bill that could finally end local squabbles over transportation network services.
āNever before in history has innovation offered the promise of so much to so many in so short a time,ā Gates says.
To me, thatās Uber and Lyft: promise and innovation.
On the other hand, when the Senate weighed in, another, more discouraging quote came to mind ā from as unlikely a source as gossip bloggerĀ Perez Hilton.
āIgnoring it wonāt deny its existence,ā he says. āIt will just delay it!ā
āBut better to plan and conquer than wait and wither!ā Perez warns.
Perezās words spoke to me of the Senateās stubborn resistance to a technological future, opting to stay stuck in theĀ past.
Itās no secret in Tallahassee that Senate PresidentĀ Andy GardinerĀ is partialĀ to the traditional taxi industry, particularly in his own backyard of tourist-rich Orlando. And it is the equally common knowledge that the taxi industry sees modern ridesharing services as a very real threat to its antiquated business model.
Nevertheless, with Gardinerās Senate appearing so stubbornly opposed to a fresh new business model ā one tremendously popular with the public ā it seems to fly in the face of conservative Republican ideals, which place so much faith in the power of innovation and entrepreneurship.
Back in August, I wrote about this conflict:
āItās about protecting an entrenched industry, the taxi companies, which have donated enough campaign cash to Florida politicians to delay the inevitable. But what these transportation companies donāt understand is that most ride-sharing customers donāt want the taxicabsā product. ā¦ Lyft and Uber arenāt taking business away from the taxicabs as much as they are creating an entirely new economy.ā
Six months later, it is shameful that weāre still stuck in the exact same place. And that brings up one more quote, this from the late, greatĀ Yogi Berra.
“It’s deja vu all over agin.”
The House sits squarely on the side of innovation; while the Senate, obstructing the path of change, does the bidding of old-school companies.
It is a sad situation, more than just campaign contributions and political connections. Or, at least, Iād like to think it is.
But the longer this continues, the more I am convinced that is precisely what is happening.
And you can quote me on that.
