Why is the Government Regulating Lyft and Uber?

This morning I used Lyft to get to work. My driver conveniently picked me up in a nice, clean, air-conditioned car all the way out in Falls Church, VA (30 minutes away from DC), and he drove me to the Capitol for just $25.

My driver was Syrian, and has many friends and family still stuck in his war-torn country. He came to America to make a good living. Let’s just say there aren’t many job prospects around when your country is in the middle of a civil war.

He lost his job here a few months ago, but now he is able to pay his bills as a Lyft driver while he looks for work. He signed up for the job, and in a matter of days he was paying his bills while working on his own time. He makes his own hours so he can continue to look for work.

We chatted about how the Virginia DMV is coming after Lyft and Uber, and how the cabbies should try to compete rather than shutting him down through needless government regulation. He makes a good living, works on his own time, and provides a needed service to the people of Virginia.

My driver escaped war in Syria and is making a living with an innovative, and disruptive, start-up in America. If that isn’t the American dream, I don’t know what is. Why is the DMV going after him?