I drove cabs for several companies about 1987-2006. While I had my share of good nights, particularly working in a college town, I NEVER felt it was "a great economy" for me, doing such a service job that entailed long hours, long periods of waiting, bad nights and occasional fares that insisted on playing head games with the drivers. However, I was very careful to not engage in political discussions.

One amusing incident: just before the 2000 election driving in the college town I got four frat boys as fares, who were quite loud in their support of George W. Bush. "Hey cab driver," one of them said, "who ya gonna vote for next week?" After trying to evade the question, I finally responded, "I plan to vote for the smarter of the two candidates." All four roared in indignation like stuck bulls. None thought to make the case that Bush was the smarter of the two.