Uber has been running TV ads in New York City that specifically say:

"Mayor de Blasio's plan to stop Uber will cost 10,000 jobs..."

So it's fair to have some more detailed discussion about what these purported jobs are.

Also, we live in a country that protects workers. We try to make sure they're safe. We try to make sure they're fairly compensated. Not everyone has the same degree of life and career flexibility of the average young techie. So even though this particular guy can probably go find another gig, "if the pay's so crappy they can just go get other jobs" isn't a universal solution.

In my experience the result seems to be more crappy cars and less "hip" drivers, if that's worth anything. I read the original plan the founder wanted was an instant "classy" ride. When I choose uberx I don't really expect it to be classy anymore, which is fine most of the time. But it has been something I've noticed. I wouldn't expect a driver to make nothing just to have a new car to drive for uber.

I've seen this line a lot, and I've never bought it. The only in result I forsee is misery, as more-and-more desperate people work for less and less of a cut.

Compare with H1b visa holders working for well under market rate.

Another possibility is that there's a steady outflow of drivers, but it's matched by a steady inflow of new drivers. The fees stay the same.

Except the demand on the buyer side tends to be pretty elastic, and will go down with prices going up.

This assumes zero churn. With how aggressively Uber is recruiting drivers, I would hypothesize that it takes the average driver a few (maybe as many as 4-6) months before they realize it is a losing proposition.