Uber drivers say earnings are falling, and many have no other income
bloomberg.com
bloomberg.com
Maybe it's something along the lines of getting "employee" protections once you do a certain amount of work which will result in it being much more difficult/competitive to get those "employee positions" and people who work less will be in higher demand / be paid more.
The real problem, I think, is how much money is being sucked away from nearly everyone for real estate which is ending up being owned by banks earning mortgage payments or investment groups earning rent. There's no particularly strong reason why this should be allowed to happen, but it is.
I pay far more for rent than I do for taxes, and the former group only "deserves" all of this money because they "own". They do and have done very little in the way of actual useful work.
I'm fine with it in certain contexts, moreso when the investment involves risk and uncertainty.
But being able to buy and collect rent (in various ways) from the basics of life (and scaling that rent up to market rates, or the highest anyone will pay without leaving) ... causes me, and society, problems.
This is how every other good in society works though and it generally works out in the consumers favour. Food is right up there with shelter in the basics of life and it's been driven way down as a percentage of labour that we have to perform in order to earn it. Same as clothing.
The problem is that housing has super high constraints on it and that's largely caused by private home ownership not landlords. It creates protectionism for land value reducing supply driving up both home prices and rent costs. Then because getting a place to rent becomes an ordeal, instability in your current living situation becomes a big deal, so theres a bunch of protection around eviction. Then because you can't boot someone easily you be more selective, vet harder, more likely to leave it vacant if you cant find someone good; which reduces supply even further.
There are no policies keeping the price of food or pants high because 99.9% of us benefit from low prices for those things which makes it harder to do politically. The same cannot be said for housing. Sure the amount of people that benefit from high rent is a tiny percentage of the population but its intrinsically linked to housing prices overall, which a lot of people do benefit from being high.
If 99.9% of people rented then abundant and cheap housing would be a priority for government at all levels. Renting isn't the cause of societal problems, it's private ownership. Specifically, politically active private ownership.
Honestly, this is not the fault of Uber or Lift or any other company. This is clearly a systematic problem. Regulate uber - then it becomes not "competitive", drivers will lose their jobs and will be forced into another dead-end, low-wage, not secure job.
It is the system.
Curious, why is that sarcasm? Are you insinuating the average Uber driver is not cut out for the work of picking groceries / fulfilling orders at Amazon?
Say what you will about their employment tactics, they are certainly one of the most flexible employers out there.
It may be that easy single in your 20s and with a bit of savings (or the ability to search while still employed) but no one should really be saying it as throwaway line as it diminishes the hardship involved and how people really behave.
Also, am I wrong to think that the recovery won't be too swift even after the quarantine is lifted? For one, the economy will be hit hard so fewer people will take taxi rides. Plus, many people will likely keep fearing social interaction and being locked in a car with a person that drives strangers around all day could put people off. Our (modern) society hasn't dealt with this type of thing before so there's not really an easy path to recovery.
I wish federal laws were put in place to protect people's income during the outbreak. I wonder whether Trump is passing the buck to states to avoid backlash against himself.
Having done a lot of independent contractor work, I know I had to hustle during lean times. If someone thought it wasn't susceptible to competition and market forces, they were a bit naive. Frankly, they were well insulated against that possibility compared to most other industries.