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Comment by stevenwoo | Hacker News Reader

This author made the mistake of trying to overgeneralize from the New York taxi industry, but most American job growth since 2005 has been temp work/contracting, Uber/Lyft are just the most visible for one industry - this kind of explains the general unease/longing for the past we saw in a sizeable percentage of the electorate expressed in the 2016 election in both parties.

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/most-jobs-created-...

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Arguably full-time employment is:

* more like serfdom than having several bosses you can replace as needed

* historically more of an anomaly than juggling a few side hustles like fishing and delivering mail and giving boat tours

Besides, it seems like employment law is more to blame for the lack of full time jobs. At least more to blame than companies that hire part time workers. If, economically, we want more full time employment, it needs to be more attractive to workers and employers than lots of part time employment.

I think the tying of quality or existence of health insurance in America to one's job (and the lack of that for a long period for gig/contract economy), the ever increasing costs of healthcare outgrowing our general standard of living in America in the past two decades, and the lack of a social safety net for a large percentage of people under the age of 65 contribute to the general insecurity people feel outside of high income brackets. Disassociating healthcare from one's employment wouldn't have to change employment law, this situation possibly only exists in America among modern economies, though I would be happy to be corrected.

Perhaps tax law could penalize part-time work while rewarding full-timers?

Maybe companies have to pay into a health-care tax for part-time workers that would get covered by medicaid, plus a part-time worker fee/tax.

I wonder what the unintended ramifications of this would be. People end up working as full-timers for a contracting company that gigs out its individuals like current employment agencies? Companies try to classify everyone as a 1099 contractor? Probably not...

>Perhaps tax law could penalize part-time work while rewarding full-timers?

Translation: steal more aggressively from people choosing to work less, than we steal from full time wage slaves.

I love my gigs and the freedom of doing freelance web, software, uber driving and also small sales.

I only work 20-30 hours per week as I see fit and can choose who I report to and when I take time off.

Why should the government steal more from me for that?

Taxes are not theft. They aren't even remotely close to theft. Steal is the wrong verb here. I'd agree that income taxes aren't great ways for the government to raise revenue but calling it "stealing" is a dishonest portrayal of the relationship we have with our government.

I do agree though that a tax system that punishes people who for working less hours is essentially a regressive tax and thus a poor idea.

You are mistaken.

The history of taxation is one of tolls, robbery, piracy and skullduggery. Source: https://mises.org/library/taxation-robbery

The word I should have used is Robbery. Not theft.

Readthe founding father's of US constitution for their thoughts on this kind of income tax.

In fact, Income Tax was promised to be temporary to fund war efforts. Liars.

Any compulsory demand to give up your labor and property at the threat of being locked in a cage, or killed is straight up robbery.

Also, your comment is Statist because we do not have a relationship to the "government". We have a relationship to the men with guns that show up at your door when you do not compulsorily give up 40% of your labor and property.

What makes full-time jobs with benefits unappealing to Uber is exactly what workers want. Someone ends up losing out here.

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