Student Pugwash USA (SPUSA) hosts various discussions regarding hot-topic issues throughout the summer. From energy and environmental policy to the social impact of technology, the events are meant to help educate D.C. interns over the summer and promote free thought. The most recent one involved the connection between healthcare policy and socio-economic status.

  What could have been a riveting panel discussion about the problems and solutions to the ever increasing discrepancy of healthcare between the rich white-folk and the poor black-folk, turned into tired locutions about the obvious problem of healthcare discrepancies in the U.S. When questioned about solutions to the problem at hand, one of the speakers informed the audience that since her group was non-partisan, non-advocacy, she could not suggest if any of the policies being proposed or currently on the books would help solve the problem.

 While the effort by SPUSA is appreciated, the discussion more or less trivialized a very serious issue that needs to be discussed in serious detail and with greater insight. While the speakers were probably very knowledgeable in their field, that knowledge was ill communicated to the audience. Info about SPUSA and lists of their upcoming events can be found at http://www.spusa.org/

You’re out late partying and having a good time when you suddenly realize that it’s Thursday, the Metro stops running at midnight, and it’s currently 2am. What do you do? Despite WMATA’s stark refusal to provide adequate public transportation to the night life in D.C., not all hope is lost. Cabs are actually decent ways to get around and with the District’s new requirement that all taxis must be metered, it’s not terribly expensive. But interns are on a budget. More often than not the only money we have is the five dollar bill that we found at a bus stop that could have been returned to the half blind octogenarian who dropped it, but decided that it was more useful for ourselves. But five bucks certainly won’t get you from U Street to your dorm in Tenleytown. No, you don’t have to spend the night on a bench, wait a few hours for public transit to get up and running or sell your clothes to the merch-booth girl. All you have to do is haggle. The following are different ways that cabbies will (often) cut you a break.

1.)    Be straight up with them. Say, “I’ve only got five dollars but I really need to get to [destination]”. If it’s a weeknight, there often aren’t a lot of fares in the wee hours of the a.m. so taking you that extra couple of blocks won’t hurt them.

2.)    Be underhanded. Tell them where you want to go but once you arrive, act like it’s a mystery that you only have five dollars once they let you out. They won’t be happy, but you’ve gotten to where you needed to go. Just hope you never get that driver again.

3.)    Bargain with them. Tell them the amount of money you have and then tell them to take you as far as that will get you. Usually they’ll take you within a few blocks of your destination. Sometime they’ll just take you the whole way if they’re feeling particularly generous.

4.)    Be a talker. This is less proven but, if you like to talk to strangers, can work. Once you get into the cab just start talking non-stop to the driver. Two things might happen: 1) They end up forgetting to turn on the meter right away. 2) They decide to give you a break because you entertain them. I will distance myself from this method though since it’s ultra specific and only works for certain people at certain times with certain drivers.

5.)    Promise repeat patronage. Lots of cab drivers have regular fares who will call them whenever they need a taxi. Say that if they help you out this one time, you’ll give them a call next time. If they agree, actually abide by your word and be sure to leave a generous tip when you can.