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Uber, Lyft to stop operations in Minneapolis over minimum wage law

reuters.com

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Re: Uber, Lyft to stop operations in Minneapolis over minimum wage law

#71

Post by waveBidder »

bogota wrote: post #43
waveBidder wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it weren't an oligopoly I'd be less inclined to endorse government interference in wage setting. I'd frankly rather the twin cities just spin up their own rideshare marketplace, they have a great carshare system[0], would love to see them expand into rideshare too. [0]: https://eviecarshare.com/

I saw what it took to build both Uber and Lyft. I know that the government will bot be able to reproduce it in any way unless you are fine with a terrible user experience and times where no rides are available

I'm specifically comparing with a very successful carshare program in Minneapolis, not getting the federal government to do it. Knee-jerk assumptions that governments are always incompetent is a great way to make them that way.

Re: Uber, Lyft to stop operations in Minneapolis over minimum wage law

#72

Post by sabarn01 »

QuercusMax wrote: post #70
sabarn01 wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the other option. Welfare exists as is and is just part of the social services offered by the government. For a lot of poor people there isn't a job that will offer them a living wage because they don't have skills yet to demand that. Bad jobs are ways to show that you have the skills to be on time come in everyday ect. Bad jobs allow people to build skills at low risk to the employer so they can demand highe…

Companies like Walmart and McDonald's take advantage of government assistance by not paying their employees enough to live on. And before you say that only teenagers should be working these minimum wage jobs - there aren't enough teens to work these jobs, especially during school hours. If you're employing people, you need to pay them enough - and if they can't live on the wages you pay, the company should foot the b…

Companies pay what people will accept and what they can offer for a job. It has nothing to do with welfare. In fact if there was no welfare do you think people would demand more or less to work? My guess is much less.

Re: Uber, Lyft to stop operations in Minneapolis over minimum wage law

#73

Post by QuercusMax »

sabarn01 wrote: post #72
QuercusMax wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Companies like Walmart and McDonald's take advantage of government assistance by not paying their employees enough to live on. And before you say that only teenagers should be working these minimum wage jobs - there aren't enough teens to work these jobs, especially during school hours. If you're employing people, you need to pay them enough - and if they can't live on the wages you pay, the company should foot the b…

Companies pay what people will accept and what they can offer for a job. It has nothing to do with welfare. In fact if there was no welfare do you think people would demand more or less to work? My guess is much less.

This race-to-the-bottom leads to what's essentially slavery. That's why we should not allow companies to pay such abusively low wages.

Re: Uber, Lyft to stop operations in Minneapolis over minimum wage law

#74

Post by tick_tock_tick »

toss1 wrote: post #44
cowboyscott wrote: post #7

I suggest reading the report by the Minnesota Department of Labor [0]. Some interesting pulls from the summary: > Census data and the driver survey indicate the majority of Minnesota TNC drivers are male immigrants and predominantly Black or African American non-Hispanic workers with less than a four-year college degree; many live in low-income households (up to 200% of the federal poverty level) and, relative to all…

>> are disproportionately reliant on public assistance. Whenever workers for a company are disproportionately reliant on public assistance, it means that the management has figured out a scam to get rest of the taxpayers to subsidize their business. The taxpayers make up the difference between what is paid vs a living wage which would be required for those workers to sustainably work for the corp, and the management/…

I'm glad we've decided on the solution of them now having no job and still requiring public assistance..... What a great morally superior decision we've made on their behalf I'm sure they'll thank us.

Re: Uber, Lyft to stop operations in Minneapolis over minimum wage law

#75

Post by VirusNewbie »

thrownaway13371 wrote: post #23
VirusNewbie wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is that true? Plenty of people work minimum wage jobs that aren't subsidized by government welfare. If someone has a roommate or a partner or a parent or a child that supports them? There are some jobs that are only economically viable at a certain wage, and anything beyond that makes it not economically viable. So those jobs won't exist.

Exactly, if you can't afford to pay a living wage you have a bad business model, which is exactly what the comment you responded to was pointing out.

Incorrect. McDonalds might calculate that for every hour someone sweeps in front of their store, they make $7 in profit. If someone is willing to do that for $6 an hour, they will pay. If minimum wage is $8 an hour, they will leave the dirt and leaves there.

That has nothing to do with having an economically viable business model.

Please do not engage on HN if you are unable to understand basic economics. This is not a place to argue something this trivial.

Re: Uber, Lyft to stop operations in Minneapolis over minimum wage law

#76

Post by tick_tock_tick »

QuercusMax wrote: post #58
toss1 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> are disproportionately reliant on public assistance. Whenever workers for a company are disproportionately reliant on public assistance, it means that the management has figured out a scam to get rest of the taxpayers to subsidize their business. The taxpayers make up the difference between what is paid vs a living wage which would be required for those workers to sustainably work for the corp, and the management/…

Absolutely. Companies like Walmart and McDonald's take advantage of this. https://www.worldhunger.org/report-walmart-workers-cost-taxp...

So what is your solution? We can clearly see from this whole article companies will just leave the market if you artificially force pay too high.

If they don't have that job at Walmart are they suddenly going to get one that means they don't need government assistance?

Re: Uber, Lyft to stop operations in Minneapolis over minimum wage law

#78

Post by bogota »

usr1106 wrote: post #56
bogota wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They offer a service and you can choose to drive for them. This in a lot of cases helps people make extra money or hold them over. But you think it’s better to let the government remove this option? I just can’t get onboard with this thinking. I understand it for W2 jobs but for freelance and pick your own hours it does not make sense.

Exploiting underpaid workers is not a service. Even if they are in tough situation with few better options.

Cool talking point.

Re: Uber, Lyft to stop operations in Minneapolis over minimum wage law

#79

Post by bogota »

lostlogin wrote: post #42
kypro wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you think you're mad as a consumer, imagine all the Uber/Lyft drivers who no longer have any income because the government has made it uneconomical for their employer to do business in their city.

Do you have a view on child labour laws?

I was working at 14 in Florida. What do you consider to be child labor?

I have lots of views they likely don’t line up with yours because most people don’t see how the low end of the economy actually works.

Re: Uber, Lyft to stop operations in Minneapolis over minimum wage law

#80

Post by hollerith »

kstrauser wrote: post #54
hollerith wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, do you think Minneapolis should pass a second law prohibiting Uber from pulling out of Minneapolis?

Of course not! Uber should be free to not operate in places where they don’t want to obey the local laws.

I agree: of course not.
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