Editorials

Today’s News and Commentary

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency recently held a meeting with cab drivers to discuss potential changes to the taxi industry. After the 2008 financial crisis, San Francisco began selling its taxi medallions for 250,000 dollars, which drivers viewed as a long-term investment. Since the advent of ride-share companies that pushed down ride prices and driver earnings, the market has frozen—no one has bought or sold a medallion in two years, and over 150 of the 700 drivers who purchased medallions have defaulted on them. While the city is considering encouraging sales by allowing corporations to buy medallions, it is not considering a medallion buyback, which drivers overwhelming advocated.

According to an article published this month in the Journal of Labor Economics, Earned Income Tax Credits have a significant positive impact on children’s education and employment outcomes. Researchers from the University of Michigan and Syracuse University examined four decades of variation in the federal and state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to identify its long-term effects on children’s outcomes. They found that an additional $1,000 in exposure to Earned Income Tax Credits when a child is 13–18 years old increases the likelihood of completing college by 4.2%, and leads to smaller increases in high school completion, employment and earnings for young adults.

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