For decades, one could not drive a cab in NY or many other areas without a city issued medallion. This limited supply of these medallions caused the prices to rise over time. It was not uncommon for a Taxi Driver to get a loan for a medallion, then work for years to pay off the loan, then retire by selling the medallion. Also, some investors bought the medallions on the market as investments, leasing them out similar to rental properties. The problem came when people who had bought medallions now had to compete with Uber/Lyft who were allowed to act as taxicabs without being forced to buy medallions. This caused the price of medallions to fall, and seriously butt-fucked to people who obeyed the law by buying a medallion to operate a cab. The "bad loans" only came about when the price of the collateral fell to way below the loan balances.
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