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How Much Are People Making from the Sharing Economy?

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Re: How Much Are People Making from the Sharing Economy?

#61

Post by taneq »

tommynicholas wrote: post #31
WheelsAtLarge wrote: post #23

I think people are missing the point of the article. I summarize that the sharing economy is not a good way to make a living. In search for the lowest price we have people that can't make enough to get an apartment and raise a family. Raising a family has become a luxury for some people. Try to raise 2 kids and you fall into poverty status. The scary part is that it's possible to see a future where a big chunk of the…

The somewhat optimistic view of these "gigs" is that they have two important qualities: - They can be picked up/put down at any time - They require no specific time commitment and can be managed in parallel with other money making endeavors/jobs Most "jobs" are actually difficult to get (go try to get a job as a waiter - you probably need to know someone), require a very specific time commitment, and if you decide yo…

Automated marketplaces are generally really efficient, which means that they drive the end-user cost down until it meets the cost of supply (ie. they drive the profit for suppliers down to zero). This is what's happening with Uber, even with their subsidised ride prices. (And for a virtual example, this is what happened in the Diablo 3 auction house, and basically killed the 'grind bosses for upgrades' endgame until they removed it.)

Re: How Much Are People Making from the Sharing Economy?

#62

Post by jahaja »

KaiserPro wrote: post #57

In the UK at least, the "sharing" economy is basically a way of paying employees less. There are two types of employment, contracted employees (that is employees that are directly employed by a company) and "self employed" (where the employee creates a single person company, which the employer then contracts) the reason why "self employed" is popular amongst the gig employers is not because its "flexible" its because…

This is surely the main feature of what's euphemistically called "the sharing economy". It's so frustratingly cynical.

Re: How Much Are People Making from the Sharing Economy?

#63

Post by dalbasal »

WheelsAtLarge wrote: post #23

I think people are missing the point of the article. I summarize that the sharing economy is not a good way to make a living. In search for the lowest price we have people that can't make enough to get an apartment and raise a family. Raising a family has become a luxury for some people. Try to raise 2 kids and you fall into poverty status. The scary part is that it's possible to see a future where a big chunk of the…

I think the gig economy is just a modern addition to day labouring, peacmeeal work and such. These segments have always existed. In many cases, they have played a positive role.

When "Labour" (unions and political movements) get heavy handed, they try to kill off these segments. They don't fit into the model. They want to promote job stability above all else, where workers have a right to their job in as close to perpetuity as they can achieve.

I don't think gig economies (and peacemeal or day labour) are completely without merits. The biggest advantage is a lack of gatekeepers. This has value.

Anyway, "uberization" is not going to replace the whole labour market. It's going to become a small segment of it. We need regulation that preserves it's character (low barriers, low committment, worker independence..) while bringing in standard worker protections.

There are many parts of the labour market that do not provide a middle class family income. The solution is not to kill them.

Re: How Much Are People Making from the Sharing Economy?

#64

Post by rtx »

dalbasal wrote: post #63
WheelsAtLarge wrote: post #23

I think people are missing the point of the article. I summarize that the sharing economy is not a good way to make a living. In search for the lowest price we have people that can't make enough to get an apartment and raise a family. Raising a family has become a luxury for some people. Try to raise 2 kids and you fall into poverty status. The scary part is that it's possible to see a future where a big chunk of the…

I think the gig economy is just a modern addition to day labouring, peacmeeal work and such. These segments have always existed. In many cases, they have played a positive role. When "Labour" (unions and political movements) get heavy handed, they try to kill off these segments. They don't fit into the model. They want to promote job stability above all else, where workers have a right to their job in as close to per…

Another benefit is wealth redistribution from richer to poorer countries, at least for gigs which can be delivered online.

Re: How Much Are People Making from the Sharing Economy?

#65

Post by rtx »

WheelsAtLarge wrote: post #58
vacri wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Try to raise 2 kids and you fall into poverty status. When was this never the case? Kids have always been costly, and families in poverty have always had kids.

But should that continue to be the case? Poverty is not a plus in any society. We all know the problems poverty brings with it. The new economy should not add to the problem. It should help solve it. We'll never get past the multi-level economy. There will always be the people at the top and the people at the bottom. We mostly feel that those that work hard to get ahead should not be treated at the level as someone t…

Making things cheaper is another way of solving it.

Re: How Much Are People Making from the Sharing Economy?

#66

Post by Simon_says »

cakedoggie wrote: post #10
Simon_says wrote: post #2

Their data comes from loan applications. Talk about selection bias ...

There date is from a source that exists, as opposed to not having data. It is a strange complaint to make, unless you know of a better source of data.

I don't need to have better ideas to point out flaws. But in this case I do know who has a better source of data: AirBnB, DoorDash, Etsy, Fiverr, Getaround, Lyft, Postmates, Taskrabbit, and Uber.

Re: How Much Are People Making from the Sharing Economy?

#67

Post by saimiam »

nostrademons wrote: post #32
frgtpsswrdlame wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think those low cost drivers, if they even think about it, believe they're more than covering their marginal costs. They idea that they're essentially paying depreciation plus a small premium to themselves would not go over well if it were more apparent. Perhaps what we need is another anti-ride-sharing calculator where you can plug in a whole bunch of details about your car and insurance, normal driving habits and…

The car's going to depreciate whether you drive for Uber or not. Most car owners treat the car as a sunk cost that you need to live in America today, and figure they might as well earn some extra money if they have to pay that cost anyway. I really doubt there are many people going out there and buying cars just so they can drive for Uber.

There are businesses which will sell/lease you a new car just to get you into the car-share business. If such companies exist, I'm willing to bet people are buying new cars to start driving for Uber.

Re: How Much Are People Making from the Sharing Economy?

#68

Post by jahaja »

rtx wrote: post #65
WheelsAtLarge wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But should that continue to be the case? Poverty is not a plus in any society. We all know the problems poverty brings with it. The new economy should not add to the problem. It should help solve it. We'll never get past the multi-level economy. There will always be the people at the top and the people at the bottom. We mostly feel that those that work hard to get ahead should not be treated at the level as someone t…

Making things cheaper is another way of solving it.

So the idea is to make things cheaper for the poor by lowering their wages?

Re: How Much Are People Making from the Sharing Economy?

#69

Post by rtx »

jahaja wrote: post #68
rtx wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Making things cheaper is another way of solving it.

So the idea is to make things cheaper for the poor by lowering their wages?

Yes, that reduces the cost of production. Everyone can be paid a high salary and produce expensive stuff. Or low salary and cheap stuff. Both of them are valid solutions.

But due to the current concentration of wealth in rich countries we are seeing preference for one of them.

Re: How Much Are People Making from the Sharing Economy?

#70

Post by RobertoG »

WheelsAtLarge wrote: post #23

I think people are missing the point of the article. I summarize that the sharing economy is not a good way to make a living. In search for the lowest price we have people that can't make enough to get an apartment and raise a family. Raising a family has become a luxury for some people. Try to raise 2 kids and you fall into poverty status. The scary part is that it's possible to see a future where a big chunk of the…

" For whatever reason, some people just can't get enough skills to move up the food chain."

The assumption that this is an skills problem is only true for the individual but not in the aggregate. Payment is not a function of skills, but of supply and demand.

If everybody was able to work as a programmer, programmers would be pay as unskilled people and business could keep the profits.

That's the reason of the insistence, in the States, in not enough STEM professionals and the need for immigration.

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