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Gig economy companies spent more than $200M to bankroll Proposition 22

theguardian.com

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Re: Gig economy companies spent more than $200M to bankroll Proposition 22

#81

Post by greggyb »

x3ro wrote: post #50
jimmar wrote: post #2

Maybe I'm too libertarian-leaning, but doesn't the author of the article have the option of NOT driving for Uber? If California is truly one of the wealthiest economies, the author should be able to find a different line of work.

Maybe I'm too left-leaning, but doesn't it feel wrong to deny people the possibility of seeing a doctor, calling in sick if they don't feel good or earning enough money to afford more than Ramen at the end of the month, no matter their line of work? It's great that the HN crowd is primarily privileged from an income point of view, but I find it hard to fathom that people lose sight of the fact that not everyone is th…

> Maybe I'm too left-leaning, but doesn't it feel wrong to deny people the possibility of seeing a doctor, calling in sick if they don't feel good or earning enough money to afford more than Ramen at the end of the month, no matter their line of work?

It does feel wrong to deny people the possibility of seeing a doctor.

It does feel wrong that some people can't afford basic necessities.

Why do you insist on drawing a line around people who have found employment and saying that they deserve these things, but if they don't have employment they deserve a second, lesser system?

If people don't have healthcare and you think they should - provide healthcare, don't try to make someone else do so.

If people don't have money and you think they should - give them money, don't require others to pay more to those people who can get a job.

Maybe tying benefits to employment and subsistence levels of cash to employment are a bad way to solve the problems you claim to care about.

Re: Gig economy companies spent more than $200M to bankroll Proposition 22

#82

Post by oftenwrong »

wavepruner wrote: post #56
tor_anon_1 wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"thank God for these benevolent companies that lobby against universal healthcare and labor unions, so they can then be there for us when we don't have healthcare or union protection" Put another way: "Thank God purdue pharma is now manufacturing the cure[1] for the opioid epidemic that purdue pharma started" 1. https://apnews.com/article/6751b84767e8a1ebbaea6cb628ac2a11

As a disabled person who has also benefitted immensely from Uber, I hear this a lot, and it is really frustrating. No one will help me, especially progressive leaning people. You don't get political or social brownie points for helping disabled people the way you would for other minority groups who are struggling. We are constantly ignored and forgotten. I was in a situation where I needed money for healthcare that w…

Why "especially progressives"? Surely people who advocate for your healthcare to be free, and for universal worker protections are doing more to help you than others? Gig work is a poor replacement for a proper "safety net". Imagine how fucked you would be if you were not able to do that gig work. Universal healthcare would have you covered.

Re: Gig economy companies spent more than $200M to bankroll Proposition 22

#83

Post by _alex_ »

tor_anon_1 wrote: post #40
treeman79 wrote: post #18

Got injured awhile back. Disability decided to play hardball. Gig jobs are all that kept family off the street while I recovered. Starting and stopping anytime as my body could tolerate. Or renting out rooms on Airbnb. Sometimes it took me 4 hours to change sheets and tidy up, but it made the difference. Not saying their good companies. But gigs was crazy valuable to me.

"thank God for these benevolent companies that lobby against universal healthcare and labor unions, so they can then be there for us when we don't have healthcare or union protection" Put another way: "Thank God purdue pharma is now manufacturing the cure[1] for the opioid epidemic that purdue pharma started" 1. https://apnews.com/article/6751b84767e8a1ebbaea6cb628ac2a11

uber, lyft, and airbnb are not the reason our healthcare system is a mess. There is a lot of bad you can lay at their feet, but this isn't one of them

Re: Gig economy companies spent more than $200M to bankroll Proposition 22

#84

Post by moduspol »

wavepruner wrote: post #56
tor_anon_1 wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"thank God for these benevolent companies that lobby against universal healthcare and labor unions, so they can then be there for us when we don't have healthcare or union protection" Put another way: "Thank God purdue pharma is now manufacturing the cure[1] for the opioid epidemic that purdue pharma started" 1. https://apnews.com/article/6751b84767e8a1ebbaea6cb628ac2a11

As a disabled person who has also benefitted immensely from Uber, I hear this a lot, and it is really frustrating. No one will help me, especially progressive leaning people. You don't get political or social brownie points for helping disabled people the way you would for other minority groups who are struggling. We are constantly ignored and forgotten. I was in a situation where I needed money for healthcare that w…

I imagine it was also good for your mental state of well-being. You didn't have to sign up for a handout or even get a "goodwill" job like a greeter or something at a big box store.

Uber and Airbnb didn't have to take a loss to employ you. You got paid because you provided value to people willing to pay for it, just like the rest of us.

That's not to say we don't need social safety nets, or that it'd work for any disability (obviously). But there is something to be said when it becomes outlawed "for your own good."

Re: Gig economy companies spent more than $200M to bankroll Proposition 22

#85

Post by Bjartr »

intricatedetail wrote: post #58
ericabiz wrote: post #51

My husband drives for Uber, and I’m glad the proposition passed as it is. He drives the way Uber was originally envisioned. He goes out some nights if there’s a surge, and in the morning on the way to work he points the app toward our stores and grabs a person (pre-pandemic) or a food delivery (today) on his way in. It pays for gas money, car maintenance, and then some. Some months he makes a few hundred dollars. Som…

People who want it to be full time, in reality want it so they can install unions and then leech money of the workers with no options.

Care to share what makes you so certain of this?

Re: Gig economy companies spent more than $200M to bankroll Proposition 22

#86

Post by tru3_power »

ericabiz wrote: post #51

My husband drives for Uber, and I’m glad the proposition passed as it is. He drives the way Uber was originally envisioned. He goes out some nights if there’s a surge, and in the morning on the way to work he points the app toward our stores and grabs a person (pre-pandemic) or a food delivery (today) on his way in. It pays for gas money, car maintenance, and then some. Some months he makes a few hundred dollars. Som…

Before Uber came along driving a cab was mostly a full time thing. My father was a cab driver for 30 years before Uber came onto the scene, and now he does Uber full time. A lot of Uber drivers I talk to are full time drivers.

Re: Gig economy companies spent more than $200M to bankroll Proposition 22

#87

Post by wavepruner »

wildrhythms wrote: post #78
wavepruner wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a disabled person who has also benefitted immensely from Uber, I hear this a lot, and it is really frustrating. No one will help me, especially progressive leaning people. You don't get political or social brownie points for helping disabled people the way you would for other minority groups who are struggling. We are constantly ignored and forgotten. I was in a situation where I needed money for healthcare that w…

>I was in a situation where I needed money for healthcare By your account, the problem is a for-profit healthcare system. Gig work might have helped you purchase a highly inflated healthcare plan, but it doesn't address the underlying issue: that people shouldn't be forced into that situation in the first place. You mentioned you are disabled, did you not qualify for disability insurance/SSI?

I did not purchase a health care plan with the money. I purchased effective treatments. To be frank, the healthcare system is worse than useless for many when it comes to debilitating chronic illness.

I do qualify for disability, but I can't afford the legal fees to convince a judge. My illness is very controversial and would require paying a very expensive doctor to support my case. It's cheaper for me to just pay for healthcare out of pocket. Fortunately my condition is reversible.

Re: Gig economy companies spent more than $200M to bankroll Proposition 22

#88

Post by SN76477 »

treeman79 wrote: post #18

Got injured awhile back. Disability decided to play hardball. Gig jobs are all that kept family off the street while I recovered. Starting and stopping anytime as my body could tolerate. Or renting out rooms on Airbnb. Sometimes it took me 4 hours to change sheets and tidy up, but it made the difference. Not saying their good companies. But gigs was crazy valuable to me.

I did doordash Grubhub Ubereats etc for about a year while I had no income. It was a lot of hours, barely paid the bills(Single income, with child household), did madness on my vehicle. It was good because it was all I had but I wouldn't want to go back to that.

Re: Gig economy companies spent more than $200M to bankroll Proposition 22

#89

Post by tor_anon_1 »

wavepruner wrote: post #87
wildrhythms wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I was in a situation where I needed money for healthcare By your account, the problem is a for-profit healthcare system. Gig work might have helped you purchase a highly inflated healthcare plan, but it doesn't address the underlying issue: that people shouldn't be forced into that situation in the first place. You mentioned you are disabled, did you not qualify for disability insurance/SSI?

I did not purchase a health care plan with the money. I purchased effective treatments. To be frank, the healthcare system is worse than useless for many when it comes to debilitating chronic illness. I do qualify for disability, but I can't afford the legal fees to convince a judge. My illness is very controversial and would require paying a very expensive doctor to support my case. It's cheaper for me to just pay f…

>I did not purchase a health care plan with the money. I purchased effective treatments.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19850269

Re: Gig economy companies spent more than $200M to bankroll Proposition 22

#90

Post by ericabiz »

momokoko wrote: post #75
ericabiz wrote: post #51

My husband drives for Uber, and I’m glad the proposition passed as it is. He drives the way Uber was originally envisioned. He goes out some nights if there’s a surge, and in the morning on the way to work he points the app toward our stores and grabs a person (pre-pandemic) or a food delivery (today) on his way in. It pays for gas money, car maintenance, and then some. Some months he makes a few hundred dollars. Som…

Did he collect unemployment, which he does not pay into, during Covid? What is the max payout for his insurance as we’ll need to cover the rest since he is not covered by workers compensation? I could go on, but the point isn’t to protect him, the point is to protect us from picking up the bill for things he and Uber are not paying into.

I think you’re misreading our situation. We run phone and computer repair shops as our primary business. Uber is his part-time side gig.

We do pay into unemployment, as we are both salaried workers of our own business.

He did not take unemployment during Covid. Our stores were considered essential, so they stayed open.

That is pretty much the point of part-time driving. You have a full-time job or business that pays the bills and you just want some extra cash.

The extra cash from Uber enabled him to pay off his car quickly and continues to provide extra money for our family. It is not a full-time income, nor do we ever expect it to be.

This is our situation, and I understand that others are different. However, you specifically asked about him, so I replied with our details.

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