Uber revolution will not last

The "labor-exploiting" argument seems a bit disingenious to me. It's not like someone sees an ad for Uber and tells their boss to shove it, as they're quitting their full-time job, forfeiting all the benefits and 401(k) matching to start a brand new career as an Uber driver.

The alternative for many drivers is simply unemployment. While there's zero possibility of labor exploitation, it reminds me of Flight of the Conchords quote "There is no more unethical treatment of the elephants. - Well, there's no more elephants, so..."

Re: Uber revolution will not last

#5

Post by okonomiyaki3000 » Tue, Sep 27, 2016, 4:59 AM UTC

The points the article makes about Uber's drivers are kind of meaningless anyway since Uber won't even have drivers in a few years.

Re: Uber revolution will not last

#6

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Sep 27, 2016, 5:04 AM UTC

okonomiyaki3000 wrote: post #5

The points the article makes about Uber's drivers are kind of meaningless anyway since Uber won't even have drivers in a few years.

[deleted]

Re: Uber revolution will not last

#7

Post by mmackh » Tue, Sep 27, 2016, 5:06 AM UTC

nawtacawp wrote: post #2

GM invested $500 million in Lyft earlier this year. I guess, they have a different view on where the market is headed. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-gm-lyft-investment-idUSKBN...

Direct quote from the article "Hill believes ride-sharing may be here to stay, but Uber is not"

Re: Uber revolution will not last

#8

Post by summarite » Tue, Sep 27, 2016, 5:07 AM UTC

Headline grabber, but not much more. That the 'sharing economy' will not continue as today should be obvious though. Governments have to react to avoid a breakdown of regular services like taxis, assuming that they want to save them. More importantly, governments won't tolerate the tax evasion and externalisation of costs - like unemployment benefits, health care, etc. That's the main reason uber is cheaper, and it's simply not sustainable - all taxis replaced with 'volunteer' drivers makes the streets not just a bit less safer, but also will cause huge costs on welfare budgets that are not paid through the regular cut taken from salaries.

Re: Uber revolution will not last

#9

Post by jrockway » Tue, Sep 27, 2016, 5:09 AM UTC

prostoalex wrote: post #4

The "labor-exploiting" argument seems a bit disingenious to me. It's not like someone sees an ad for Uber and tells their boss to shove it, as they're quitting their full-time job, forfeiting all the benefits and 401(k) matching to start a brand new career as an Uber driver. The alternative for many drivers is simply unemployment. While there's zero possibility of labor exploitation, it reminds me of Flight of the Co…

One wonders if driving for Uber could compete with basic income.

The Internet keeps telling me that all Uber drivers are unhappy. I use Uber from time to time, and about 90% of the time, the driver seems super happy to be driving for Uber. They seem happy with their compensation. Maybe all the drivers are new, this is their first week, and it all sounds good on paper. But maybe they actually like the job. I don't know.

Re: Uber revolution will not last

#10

Post by Fricken » Tue, Sep 27, 2016, 5:10 AM UTC

Certainly, sooner or later the liliputians will come in and tie Uber down, but it's a giant now. It's a little too late to be proselytizing about the company's imminent demise.

And in spite of supposedly losing in China, Uber managed to negotiate some pretty favorable terms. Uber now has a board seat and a 20% stake in Didi, a 30 billion dollar company growing about as fast as Uber was when it was that size.