'The Gig Economy' Is the New Term for Serfdom
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'The Gig Economy' Is the New Term for Serfdom
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Re: 'The Gig Economy' Is the New Term for Serfdom
#2> His medallion, once worth $1.1 million
Wow. Why not sell the medallion immediately and retire to some place with low cost of living instead of working 12 hour night shifts and never seeing your spouse because she works the day shift?
Re: 'The Gig Economy' Is the New Term for Serfdom
#3I was mostly agreeing with the article until this part:
"His medallion, once worth $1.1 million, had plummeted in value to $180,000. The dramatic drop in the value of the medallion, which he had hoped to lease for $3,000 a month or sell to finance his retirement, wiped out his economic security. He faced financial ruin and poverty. And he was not alone."
The medalions are stupid and shouldn't exist. Relying on their "value" for retirement is crazy. And like another commenter has said - if it was worth 1.1 million, why not sell it and retire, perhaps doing a less stressful job than driving a taxi for 12 hours in turns with your wife? It sounds like he gambled - that he could keep working, keep the medallion, and retire while leasing the medallion for $3000/month(!!!!!!!!!!) - and like all gambles, this one had a possibility of failing - and it did.
Re: 'The Gig Economy' Is the New Term for Serfdom
#4> His medallion, once worth $1.1 million Wow. Why not sell the medallion immediately and retire to some place with low cost of living instead of working 12 hour night shifts and never seeing your spouse because she works the day shift?
Because the medallion was a capital asset he was working to produce income, in the same manner as some people own trucks of about that value?
Re: 'The Gig Economy' Is the New Term for Serfdom
#5I was mostly agreeing with the article until this part: "His medallion, once worth $1.1 million, had plummeted in value to $180,000. The dramatic drop in the value of the medallion, which he had hoped to lease for $3,000 a month or sell to finance his retirement, wiped out his economic security. He faced financial ruin and poverty. And he was not alone." The medalions are stupid and shouldn't exist. Relying on their…
medallions may have had sense but as a state regulated monopoly should never have had been transferable in the first place and should have had a (reasonably long) time limit on top of it.
Re: 'The Gig Economy' Is the New Term for Serfdom
#6Serfdom is not a good comparison. Serfs were essentially slaves required to work the land, they did not choose to do so at hours that suited them, which is a key "feature" of the gig economy. They also were required to work mines, logging, or whatever service the lord of the manor wished.
Let's say you worked for ride-shaes the same hours as a serf, something like sunrise to sunset. If you drove an Uber in my city for that long, you'd probably make at least $100 pre-tax, and your overall income would be enough to support yourself in a far higher quality of life than even the greatest kings who ruled over the serfs.
Re: 'The Gig Economy' Is the New Term for Serfdom
#7> Travis Kalanick, the former CEO of Uber and one of the founders, has a net worth of $4.8 billion.
I agree that the working conditions of workers should improve but I never understand the comparison to the value of CEOs. Travis Kalanick isn't sleeping on $4.8 billion, it's in the economy.
Re: 'The Gig Economy' Is the New Term for Serfdom
#8> His medallion, once worth $1.1 million Wow. Why not sell the medallion immediately and retire to some place with low cost of living instead of working 12 hour night shifts and never seeing your spouse because she works the day shift?
Because the medallion was a capital asset he was working to produce income, in the same manner as some people own trucks of about that value?
I can only assume he didn't buy it for 1.1 million dollars. If you bought a truck for say $100k, but after few years its value rose to $1.1M, I'd also recommend selling the truck instead of relying on the idea that the truck will retain its value and support retirement.
Re: 'The Gig Economy' Is the New Term for Serfdom
#9Serfdom is not a good comparison. Serfs were essentially slaves required to work the land, they did not choose to do so at hours that suited them, which is a key "feature" of the gig economy. They also were required to work mines, logging, or whatever service the lord of the manor wished. Let's say you worked for ride-shaes the same hours as a serf, something like sunrise to sunset. If you drove an Uber in my city fo…
I think the point is we are heading in the direction of more inequality where people feel like slaves to the economy.
Re: 'The Gig Economy' Is the New Term for Serfdom
#10I run a business where I hire remote people to do fairly basic tasks. I can pay them cheaply, replace them easily when they don't fit anymore. I am the "platform" and I extract the surplus.
So I feel the article has very valid points... and I am on the "ruling capitalists" side of my little world.
In order to sleep at night, I am just trying not to be an asshole, and to be decent in the way I pay and behave. But as a society, we cannot rely just on goodwill.
In the age of globalization, and as a firm believer in the efficiency of market economy and capitalism, I think it is still time to reintroduce a new sort of new, rebranded "International Socialism" where "workers/people of the world, unite!" for everyone's good.
The goal would be that people can have access to enough food, decent accommodation, healthcare, and retirement, so that on top of this base, we can use the efficiency of a globalized market economy.
Not sure where to start...