Uber, one of the only large tech companies that openly hates you, has made a name for itself not based on its convenience (which is ample) but its price gouging practices (which are gratuitous). Now, one sane New York Council member is introducing legislation to crack down on Uber's transit greed.

The New York Times reports that Democratic Brooklynite David G. Greenfield is pushing to cap Uber surge pricing at its 2x mode—still expensive, but not so high that getting home safely could cost you $800:

"As New Yorkers, we live and die by the rule that we do not want to be ripped off," he said.

"Many of our cabbies are immigrants who are being punished by a $40 billion corporation," Mr. Greenfield said, referring to Uber Technologies, which operates internationally and is based in San Francisco, and whose worth has been estimated around that amount. "It's quashing the American dream here in New York City."

Uber's many apologists and free market masturbators will say that this is merely the dictates of supply and demand in action. It's no more unfair for Uber to charge you five times the normal price when you need a ride the most than it would be for a restaurant to charge you five times the menu price when you're hungriest.

The only legitimate counterpoint here is that New York has the best public transportation system on our planet, and the occasions when you truly need a cab are few—but when they come up, you shouldn't get flagrantly ripped off by a monolithic venture-backed prick hegemon.