Lane Smith Jr., a Los Angeles filmmaker, sent me yesterday information about a documentary he’s producing about the rise of Uber, the car-hire service that is sweeping the country (and Arkansas) with an app-driven system challenging existing taxi franchises.
Smith sent a link to the trailer and his effort to have an independent fund-raising campaign to finish the project. He was inspired by posts on the Blog about Uber. Just yesterday, for example, we mentioned Sen. Jason Rapert’s bill to eliminate any possibility of city control of Uber in Arkansas with a state law that pleas oversight of “transportation network companies” like Uber in the hands of the Public Service Commission under terms of law written according to Uber’s preferences. Smith’s description:
UNFARE will explore a dangerous new era, in which companies use millions in private equity funds, clever marketing ploys, and escapes the costs of regulation to generate investor returns – even as the “independent contractors” that supply their services work for what often ends up being less than minimum wage.
Proudly identifying as “disruptive” – a term alternately applied to new methods of data storage, or a child that can’t sit still – Uber essentially takes the position that it is above the law – declaring war on the taxi industries and regulators in every major city. What is the true price of Uber’s brand of capitalism?