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Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

lyft.com

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Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#381

Post by cosmojg »

gpanders wrote: post #339
whoisjuan wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I keep paying my health insurance premium at my home country just because the health insurance in the US is completely broken. I feel that if you get seriously sick in the US you're in an almost sure path to financial insolvency. My employer pays probably a shit ton of money for my health insurance and what I get is the most subpar, confusing, broken and sometimes blatantly extortive service ever. I live in Austin an…

> I live in Austin and sometimes I think if I really need a major procedure it would be just simpler to drive to Mexico and get it done there. This even has a name: Medical Tourism.

I wonder if medical tourism provides a capitalist solution to the healthcare problem in the US. Could it be cheaper for a health insurance company to pay for flights to and from other countries along with procedures in those countries? There are a lot of non-emergency medical issues which can be serviced this way. In the long run, such insurance would drive down the price of traditional health insurance as well as the price of the procedures themselves locally.

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#382

Post by AgloeDreams »

Balgair wrote: post #370
dannyw wrote: post #6

I used to drive for Uber, a few hours a week during my downtime when I was bored and had nothing better to do. The earnings weren’t great, but it was very helpful as an extra. I had a fuel efficient car and kept track of all my expenses for deductions and made above minimum wage. I’ve met plenty of lovely and fascinating people and had great, enjoyable conversations. I barely had any issues with riders. This extra in…

How much did the wear and tear on the car take out? I've been thinking of doing the same, but i keep hearing that when you factor in all the repairs you'll have to do, then it comes out at pretty much a wash.

Fun fact: the average pay per mile is less than the US Government's Standard driving deduction.

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#383

Post by setgree »

subdane wrote: post #31

Am I nuts, or is the heart of this issue really the fact that our healthcare system is built on tying benefits to full time jobs?

This is why I think it was a mistake for the ACA to limit catastrophic care to people under 30 (unless you get a hardship waiver [0]). That policy makes the cheapest non-job insurance that a lot of people can get cost >$500/month, whereas a catastrophic plan costs a lot less (about $120/month when I had such a plan in 2016).

For a lot of people who drive Lyft, catastrophic care could be a good fit, e.g. people in between jobs who expect to have a company plan at their next full-time position. This wouldn't entirely close the gap towards providing gig workers with benefits, but it would have helped.

There's also people for whom Lyft is a second job -- I'm thinking of a ride with a Chicago public school teacher who drove on weekends and breaks -- and I don't think it makes sense to force Lyft to provide them with insurance.

[0] https://www.healthcare.gov/health-coverage-exemptions/2019-e....

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#384

Post by rattray »

shekispeaks wrote: post #354

Lyft is being petty here. I understand that they cannot make all drivers employees, but they could have some drivers on the road and not pulled the rug on users. This goes to say that you cannot trust private companies like Lyft for critical services. The government actually has been transparent about this change and Lyft is acting like a spoilt child, not even willing to try the employee route. Lyft pulling the rug…

Totally disagree; this is a courageous action to show that they really mean what they've been saying all along.

The California government is the party that's been acting like a brat here. The rideshare drivers of California overwhelmingly didn't want this approach to receiving benefits. Lawmakers got jealous that economic activity was happening in a new way that they couldn't tax and control the way they were used to, and instead of solving problems creatively, attempted to slam a non-nail with a hammer. They were warned in no uncertain terms that it'd hurt.

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#386

Post by lostcolony »

aidenn0 wrote: post #345
sneak wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you can employ W-2-style employees without providing them healthcare. It’s a perk, but not legally required to have a W-2 employee. I think the heart of the issue is the entirely artificial split between the concept of employee and contractor. (Much like the arbitrary split between taxi and car service in nyc.) Making everyone a contractor for every job, with the terms of the job specified in the contract, se…

Does that mean that when I remodel my house, I would have to negotiate on time and materials terms, lest the contractor accidentally underbid and end up with less than minimum wage? I think the law rightfully distinguishes between truly negotiable contracts and take-it-or-leave-it terms offered by a party with more negotiating power.

Of course not. The prices someone sets are not related to the wages they're paid. You're paying a price; you're not paying a wage. The contractors are paid a wage by the business owner; if he pays them less than minimum wage it's illegal; if he pays them more, but does not recoup that cost on the job because he underbid it, that's a business loss.

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#387

Post by scelerat »

malandrew wrote: post #304
subsubzero wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think its perplexing at all, the larger the increase of ride sharing services the lower the usage of public transportation[1]. Alot of the SF traffic is not people commuting in from other cites and taking Uber/Lyft to do so. These people by and large take caltrain/muni/corporate shuttles. People that drive in using their own cars would not use lyft/uber due to cost of these services. The problem with lower pu…

> the larger the increase of ride sharing services the lower the usage of public transportation so does private car ownership, private bike ownership and bikesharing. Private car ownership externalities overlap greatly with ridesharing. The solution here is congestion pricing for all vehicles except public transportation. You tax what you want less of and what causes the most wear on the systems that need to be maint…

Within the city, it's not like people who already own cars instead use rideshare apps; it's that for anyone in the city who might have used public transportation, a portion have opted for the rideshare apps. And that leads to the effects parent et al are talking about: increased congestion and all its side effects.

Bike use and bike sharing, while decreasing public transit use, have similar positive benefits to public transit use such as reduced congestion, reduced pollution, etc.

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#388

Post by runarberg »

ccffpphh wrote: post #347
lefrenchy wrote: post #310

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is where the gig economy shines, when people want to use it to make extra money on the side or push to achieve financial goals. However, by your own admission you did it because you were "bored" and wanted to make some money. Unfortunately many gig workers don't have the privilege. I'm assuming here but you probably had another job and benefits. There are many workers who don't, and are turning to Uber or Lyft j…

What were these people doing before Uber and Lyft came around?

Taking similar gig in other industries, such as gardening, constructions, telemarketing and support, pet care, beauty industry, etc.

The gig economy did not start with Uber or AirBnB.

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#389

Post by vadym909 »

subdane wrote: post #31

Am I nuts, or is the heart of this issue really the fact that our healthcare system is built on tying benefits to full time jobs?

Not just healthcare- but other beenfits like sick leave, etc. and collecting taxes like unemployment insurance. When you do this -you better not leave any loopholes because companies have proven they will use it. IF Uber was successful, other companies would start fractional hiring of employees. I only need Finance people 2 days/week- they can come in anytime they like, work as long as they want and can work at other companies too. We'll save on taxes and benefits and they will enjoy their freedom. Too bad the Govt will lose taxes and the workers their benefits.

Re: Rideshare operations are being suspended in California

#390

Post by dumbfoundded »

hpkuarg wrote: post #322
dumbfoundded wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, pretty much all of the best state economies are extremely liberal (1). I think the anti-tax sentiment on HN is from people who make a lot of money and then realize they have to pay taxes. They attribute their success entirely to themselves and then whine about giving anything back to the environment that enabled them. California certainly has giant problems but don't let it distract you from the big picture. (1…

Half of the top ten in that list cannot be called "extremely liberal" (or for some, even moderately liberal) -- Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Florida, and Arizona; even fewer in the next ten. I don't disagree with you vis-a-vis the anti-tax sentiment, but you're making a strong claim that extremely liberal state government policies drive economies, and that's a reach.

4 out of the top 5 are extremely liberal. In the top ten, let's calculate by population.

Blue: 66.8M (5.7 + 7.6 + 39.5 + 4.2 + 6.8 + 3)

Red: 12.3M (3.2 + 1.8 + 7.3)

Swing (aka Florida): 21.5M

This can be a bit confusing so let's skip straight to the point. If you take the house of representatives and add up GDP by district, democrats account for $10.2T and republicans account for $6.2T (1). The differences don't stop there. Republican districts have slower economic growth, less skilled labor, less educated workers, and a host of other bad indicators.

(1) https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/15/charts-democrats-represent-m...

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