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The sharing economy was always a scam

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Re: The sharing economy was always a scam

#91

Post by joejerryronnie »

nnnnnande wrote: post #85
joejerryronnie wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We’re at historically low levels of unemployment. There’s work out there if you want it. Sure, based on your skills and experience, you may not find a job which supports the lifestyle you want or the rent where you want to live, but then you reset your expectations and move to a place with a lower COL.

You're right, but even that is more nuanced; for instance, the US unemployment rate is based on a survey that counts any paid work during the survey week as employment. I'm not in the US myself, but I think for the HN crowd in general moving to someplace else isn't a problem as we have the financial means as well as the independence. Other social groups might be more dependent on the social support around them (famil…

You’re right that moving to a new location isn’t as trivial as my post would suggest, especially if you’re relying on your family for childcare. But it is still an option that people have been forced to consider throughout history.

Re: The sharing economy was always a scam

#92

Post by redwall_hp »

wyqydsyq wrote: post #42
thinkingkong wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He was probably slipping the clutch.

I think you'll find it's been years if not decades since there was a Camry available with a manual transmission

And that would just wear a bearing/spring system or the clutch, which are all repairs that are far cheaper than the cost of an automatic transmission replacement.

Re: The sharing economy was always a scam

#93

Post by aikah »

geezerjay wrote: post #74
aikah wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> When you ask friends to drop you at airport that is sharing. And your friend didn't need a professional insurance for his car for that. The difference is scale. Giving a lift from time to time to friends is very different from doing it full time while pretending you are not a taxi.

The main driving principle of the sharing economy is actually the ability to give a lift from time to time without any bother. The problem is that a number of factors do prevent supply from entering the market, thus the revenue available to established players is high enough to validate working full time.

> The main driving principle of the sharing economy is actually the ability to give a lift from time to time without any bother.

Except for people driving for Uber full-time. The whole "grass root sharing economy" Uber style is a masquerade.

Re: The sharing economy was always a scam

#94

Post by ksec »

smadge wrote: post #61
jeffbax wrote: post #12

Articles like this ignore the impact on individuals. For every group that is trying to full time Uber/Lyft or turn an AirBNB into a hotel, there's also tons of people who are doing in the spare time to make some extra or work the better allocation of resources into something beneficial for them. See threads like: https://twitter.com/RantyAmyCurtis/status/110272136190510694... That's what sharing is about, more optima…

I think that twitter story is an example of the financially precarious position many workers are in. It only supports the idea that our economy is fundamentally unfair to working people. How is it acceptable that a mother of three going to nursing school has to support herself and her family through contributions from friends and family, multiple part time jobs, and driving for Uber? Going to school and raising a fam…

Incoming Unpopular opinion.

I had a somewhat similar discussion, and it turns out many people from different origins and Culture think differently. And hence why politics are complicated. In America that would be considered as hard working American. Some are proud ( until the hard cold market reality got in to their end I suppose ) and they don't even think there is anything wrong with it. In Europe, that would be considered as Market and Companies taking unfair advantage over its citizen on labours. And should be condemned as evil and greed. Then this often leads to discussion of US with little regulation, and comparatively EU with many regulations.

The hardest problem to solve are problem that many don't seen it as a problem. In the case most Uber drivers in US don't seems to be having an issues with Uber.

Re: The sharing economy was always a scam

#95

Post by geezerjay »

door5 wrote: post #80
geezerjay wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If those providing services through platforms such as Uber or airbnb didn't benefitted from them then they'd be doing something else instead. Furthermore, of detractors actually cared about "the workers" then they'd be worried about how they have no better options instead of attacking the best options they have. And no, banning Uber or airbnb does not make the workers' lives any better. It just an option off the tabl…

There are choices other than unemployment and shitty gig jobs -- stable, well-paying employment with benefits. Whether these jobs exist or not isn't because of some abstract economic theory: they have to be fought for and won through political struggle (ie unions & strikes). The gig economy disempowers workers and makes solidarity among workers more difficult, because workers may not have a single employer, and are e…

> There are choices other than unemployment and shitty gig jobs -- stable, well-paying employment with benefits.

There really isn't. Everyone looks after their best interests, and those working for companies such as Uber are already choosing the best option that's available to them.

Zero people have passed on well-paying jobs with benefits to pursue a career delivering food through Uber eats.

Making vacuous statements regarding the myriad of better options the gig economy workers forego to pursue the siren song of delivering pizzas makes as much sense as depicting winning the lottery as a valid alternative to working a day job, and it's an insult to those who want to make a living but have limited options.

People choose to deliver pizzas for a living because it's the best option available to them, and complaining that they should instead just get a stable well-paying job with benefits makes as much sense as complaining that starving people should eat cake instead.

Re: The sharing economy was always a scam

#96

Post by cwyers »

antidesitter wrote: post #65
cwyers wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's the thing. Economic transactions can have externalities -- costs to someone not a party to the transaction that are not reflected in the cost of the good or service in the transaction. The "sharing economy" has loads of externalities. It's like saying, if you don't like the bonfire, don't participate to it, when you've set the fire downwind of someone and there's smoke blowing in their tent.

Every industry has externalities, both positive and negative. Your comment is basically vacuous.

Yes, every industry has externalities. They exist. They're basic Econ 101 stuff. Which is why it's overly simplistic to say "nobody else should interfere in a transaction between two people." There's externalities, there's market failure, there's the tragedy of the commons. A belief in markets ought to be paired with an understanding of them.

Re: The sharing economy was always a scam

#98

Post by winrid »

nimbius wrote: post #22

Speaking as a professional engine mechanic for a chain of Midwest shops, you have no idea how big a ripoff uber and lyft are until you're in the shop. The rates you make do not cover fleet style usage of your personal vehicle. Cabbies love the crown Vic because its intercooler let's it idle for hours on end with no worries. And they love the Prius because the idle uses no fuel. But your car? Get ready for more oil ch…

No intercooler on a crown vic unless you've turbocharged it. They are reliable because they are simple.

Re: The sharing economy was always a scam

#99

Post by djakjxnanjak »

bobthepanda wrote: post #14
jeffbax wrote: post #12

Articles like this ignore the impact on individuals. For every group that is trying to full time Uber/Lyft or turn an AirBNB into a hotel, there's also tons of people who are doing in the spare time to make some extra or work the better allocation of resources into something beneficial for them. See threads like: https://twitter.com/RantyAmyCurtis/status/110272136190510694... That's what sharing is about, more optima…

Allowing people to participate in activities is useful, but that assumes that they are well-informed and rational. People also willingly participate in multi-level marketing; that doesn’t mean it’s good for them and society to do so.

I think the right policy response to multi-level marketing and ride sharing is the same - aggressively regulate dishonest recruitment. Use a “consumer protection” mindset because a proper employer-employee relationship does not exist.

Re: The sharing economy was always a scam

#100

Post by starpilot »

nimbius wrote: post #22

Speaking as a professional engine mechanic for a chain of Midwest shops, you have no idea how big a ripoff uber and lyft are until you're in the shop. The rates you make do not cover fleet style usage of your personal vehicle. Cabbies love the crown Vic because its intercooler let's it idle for hours on end with no worries. And they love the Prius because the idle uses no fuel. But your car? Get ready for more oil ch…

Well, that's why tons of Uber drivers use Priuses. It can work out for some people. You don't see them in your shop because it is working for them.
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