Of Citizens and Customers

Economic theory has it that participating in political processes as a way of advancing personal interests has several disadvantages: 

• there is rarely the payoff for the effort involved (taking the time to understand the issues, attending meetings, preparing and making presentations, responding to civic processes), and then what? 

• decisions when rendered need to satisfy a great number of people, resulting in such compromises that individual interest get subsumed to “the common good”.

And the most interesting disadvantage involves the theory of concentrated benefits and dispersed costs. 

• there will always be some people for whom the benefits do justify the costs. As long as government has influence over certain economic outcomes (such as regulating the number of taxis), there will be those who ensure those outcomes deliver certain benefits. And to lobby strongly for maintaining those outcomes.

No small wonder the voice of the citizen and customer is currently muted. Much like it was during the 2002-2007 period resulting in the current bylaw.

Voters for Taxis will address the shortcomings of the current process by providing citizens and customers with opportunities for: 

• rebalancing the payoff for the effort involved so that there is a more equitable distribution of benefits and costs; 

• debunking the myths that grow from a long history of participation by a small group at the exclusion of a larger one, so that there is a broader narrative and less one-sided dominance of the public space; and,  

• wiser decisions to be made at multiple levels based on good quality data, repeated engagement  and rigorous testing of assumptions, positions and options for better taxis services in Calgary.

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