[Yardlink]

Nobody seems to care about these laws until some high-profile company starts breaking them. 10 years ago where was the outrage that GM wasn't allowed to sell SUVs directly to customers? Where was the outrage that ordinary people (ie creeps) weren't allowed to put a "taxi" sign on their car and start picking up strangers at night for money?

[cpwright]

GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, et. al. have already accepted an up-front fee in exchange for franchise agreements; so the franchise laws in that case protect the initial investment of a franchisee.

There actually was some debate over selectively cancelling franchise contracts during the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies.

[icebraining]

People have always complained about the taxi regulations. Articles in major newspapers, reports by the Federal Trade Commission arguing for the elimination of the most important regulations (such as the medallions system), a lawsuit from the Institute for Justice against the Denver Taxi Commission, etc.

But to get most people to care, you need to show them the alternative. Economic theory, valid or not, doesn't breed outrage.

[mikeash]

You're basically saying that nobody cares about these laws until they have an obvious negative impact. Why would you expect anything else?