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The sharing economy was always a scam

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Re: The sharing economy was always a scam

#141

Post by Pristina »

smadge wrote: post #130
ksec wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 co…

I agree. If Uber drivers view themselves as individuals acting rationally to maximize their material conditions in an environment they can't alter, then why would they have issues with Uber? If driving for Uber wasn't a net positive over not driving for Uber, they wouldn't be Uber drivers. But they can and should alter the economic environment they exist in, through politics and labor organizing. The median cut Uber…

You can choose to not participate in Uber's system.

You can not choose to not pay tax. Well, you can choose that but you will go to jail and be potentially sodomised.

Re: The sharing economy was always a scam

#142

Post by dang »

Pristina wrote: post #138
benj111 wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think its patronising, some (many?) people just aren't good at maths. I know a couple of intelligent people that have a real blind spot when it comes to dealing with figures. So this isn't a 'stupid people' thing. Have you never had a conversation with someone about their new car/phone. They say it's cheap because it only costs them X per month. You ask them what the total cost is, and they have no idea? Beca…

the fool and his money are soon parted. I have no sympathy for people who cannot use sixth grade maths.

Maybe not, but please don't post unsubstantive comments here.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: The sharing economy was always a scam

#143

Post by Pristina »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #111
bobthepanda wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

MLMs makes participants scam other people, so IMO they should be burned to the ground. As for "sharing economy" & drugs and - banning them outright may not be a good idea, but it sure would be best if working for Uber came with Surgeon's General warning.

So if I don't scam people, do MLMs whip me or something? How do they 'make' me?

Re: The sharing economy was always a scam

#144

Post by dredmorbius »

neonate wrote: post #113
dredmorbius wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In a world where, as I’ve argued, average is over — the skills required for any good job keep rising — a lot of people who might not be able to acquire those skills can still earn a good living now by building their own branded reputations, whether it is to rent their kids’ rooms, their cars or their power tools. -- Thomas Friedman, The New York Times , July 21, 2013 https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/21/opinion/sunday/…

Well, that's Friedman. If ever there were an exception to prove the rule.

I'm all but positive there are more. That turned up just looking through older "sharing economy" posts in HN. And a single instance suffices to disprove the claim made.

Though it's somewhat heartening to see that the skepticism was dialed way up from the start, for the most part, among commenters.

Re: The sharing economy was always a scam

#145

Post by xondono »

arcturus17 wrote: post #104
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…

What about those of us who do not wish to take in any of this and still pay the consequences? In Madrid rent is up a staggering 17% YoY, mostly due to AirBnB. That affects anyone looking for an apartment and I’m sure if renters were to pick between having AirBnB available for their travels - which is eye-wateringly expensive anyway! - or cheaper rent, they will invariably pick the latter.

Madrid, like Barcelona, has rising rent prices but blaiming them on AirBnB like some politicians have is very disingenuous.

AirBnB and similar players have a small percentage of the rent stock. They can only shift prices on the margin.

If you want the real culprits, Spain has a broken rental law that increases risks both for renters and lenders, and both cities have strict construction limiting codes (i.e. almost fixed supply).

Re: The sharing economy was always a scam

#146

Post by Pristina »

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…

meanwhile the guy who's perfectly fine driving for uber is eating cheetos at time and you will never meet him.

it's like being a doctor and complaining that everybody is sick.

Re: The sharing economy was always a scam

#147

Post by Pristina »

PostOnce wrote: post #23
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…

Well, it's not hard to imagine a future in which a majority of labor is "just in time" and people all have 6 different part-time gigs going concurrently, taking whichever job notification pops up next on their phone. Optimal for profit margins for a single company, but at what cost to society as a whole?

this would only work for unskilled workers.

although being a doctor, you only work when there are patients. so that's JIT too i guess.

Re: The sharing economy was always a scam

#148

Post by harperlee »

xondono wrote: post #145
arcturus17 wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about those of us who do not wish to take in any of this and still pay the consequences? In Madrid rent is up a staggering 17% YoY, mostly due to AirBnB. That affects anyone looking for an apartment and I’m sure if renters were to pick between having AirBnB available for their travels - which is eye-wateringly expensive anyway! - or cheaper rent, they will invariably pick the latter.

Madrid, like Barcelona, has rising rent prices but blaiming them on AirBnB like some politicians have is very disingenuous. AirBnB and similar players have a small percentage of the rent stock. They can only shift prices on the margin. If you want the real culprits, Spain has a broken rental law that increases risks both for renters and lenders, and both cities have strict construction limiting codes (i.e. almost fix…

This 100%. In addition, if you want to look into new factors, the huge amounts of foreign investments that came into Madrid have been dedicated to normal rentals, or to hoarding empty flats; not to short term rentals.

Re: The sharing economy was always a scam

#149

Post by xondono »

harperlee wrote: post #148
xondono wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Madrid, like Barcelona, has rising rent prices but blaiming them on AirBnB like some politicians have is very disingenuous. AirBnB and similar players have a small percentage of the rent stock. They can only shift prices on the margin. If you want the real culprits, Spain has a broken rental law that increases risks both for renters and lenders, and both cities have strict construction limiting codes (i.e. almost fix…

This 100%. In addition, if you want to look into new factors, the huge amounts of foreign investments that came into Madrid have been dedicated to normal rentals, or to hoarding empty flats; not to short term rentals.

Foreign or national, the fact is that Spain suffered a housing bubble and it’s burst, but all of the legal and political conditions that gave rise to the bubble are still there.

Add the negative interest rates of the BCE, and you have found a nice way to make a killing...

Re: The sharing economy was always a scam

#150

Post by ionised »

geezerjay wrote: post #102
aikah wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Some people work for Uber full-time because regulation restricts supply, thus providing the service becomes too profitable and generates enough income to make a living working full time. I also have a hard time trying to see the point of this sort of argument. Are taxi services suddenly bad, and driving a taxi for a living something to frown upon?

> Are taxi services suddenly bad, and driving a taxi for a living something to frown upon?

Nowhere did he say or even suggest that.

You are making a deliberately uncharitable interpretation of his post in order to weaken the point he was making.

All this does though, is weaken yours.

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