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A Victory in D.C.
Travis Kalanick's Uber helps city dwellers get rides on demand in luxury cars, and he wants to launch a cheaper service, one closer in price to taxis. But Washington, D.C., Councilmember Mary Cheh proposed a law that would have imposed a price floor on such services -- and effectively prohibited the new service.
So Kalanick fought back: He called on customers to email the D.C. Council -- and one council member said he got 5,000 emails about the issue.
A Victory in Missouri
I'd like to take a moment to applaud the Pacific Legal Foundation and the legislature and governor of Missouri for putting an end to that state's certificate of necessity law for moving companies. The law gave established moving companies "the privilege of basically vetoing" a newcomer's application for a license, PLF says.
Who Died of FDA?
How many people got HIV because the FDA didn't even want to consider approving a home test for the deadly virus? That's the question Roger Parloff over at Fortune raises now that the FDA has approved one:
Prosecutor Accused of Retaliating for Speech
A businessman was accused of "structuring" cash deposits of his income from farmers market sales, and now the federal prosecutor who took his money is accused of retaliating against the businessman for protesting to the press:
Russia Incarcerates Almost 3 Million Businessmen, Ombudsman Says
It's "hard to find another social group persecuted on such a large scale" as businessmen, says Boris Titov. Ayn Rand, of course, called big-business men "America's Persecuted Minority," but as bad as things were for American businessmen in her time, and as much worse as they are today, Titov is ombudsman for business rights in a country where things are even worse: Over the past decade, he tells the BBC, "Russia has imprisoned nearly three million entrepreneurs, many unjustly."
EEOC Sues Cafe Over Disabled Employee
If the notion of forcing Netflix to tailor movies for the deaf and blind or making banks replace their ATMs with audio-equipped versions sounds bad, take a moment to consider what the Americans with Disabilities Act does to employment.
Abacus Deal Still in Court
Remember the Abacus case against Goldman Sachs that the BRC's Roger Donway said involved a "moral counter-revolution"? Well, Goldman is still facing litigation over that deal: a judge recently refused to dismiss a lawsuit by people who'd bought Goldman stock.
Must Netflix Tailor Movies for the Deaf and Blind?
A deaf person and two deaf-advocacy organizations are suing Netflix for making movies available for instant online viewing without providing closed captioning. Failure to provide captions -- which may cost hundreds of dollars per movie -- is a form of discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act, they argue. (H/T Walter Olson.)
FDA Trying to Regulate Smartphone Apps
Imagine trying to innovate with this going on.
There's been a burst of creativity in smartphone apps. But the FDA wants to regulate the ones that help with health challenges. So, just as with drug manufacturers, programmers who think they can help you with your health may have to get permission first.
Well, not all of them.
But which?
Don't Expect Health-Law Uncertainty to End Soon
Among the challenges businesses face as a result of President Obama's health-insurance reform law is uncertainty. But even if the Supreme Court puts an end to that law, the Wall Street Journal notes, it won't put an end to the regime uncertainty surrounding health reform.
