Nor does the bureau’s data reflect other changes that have left many American workers with less security and fewer opportunities for advancement. Many companies, for example, now outsource large parts of their business to subcontractors. Employees of those firms will not, for the most part, count as alternative workers under the government’s definition. But they generally earn less and receive smaller benefits than equivalent workers employed directly by large companies, and they have far less opportunity to move up the corporate ladder.
...comes a time when your measurements are no longer valid. And when those measurements are used to set policy, it follows that your policies are no longer valid.
How many of these optimists are libertarians? It's their wet dream come true. I'd hazard a guess that none of these optimists have experience with the gig economy.
I drove for Uber off and on for a year. At one point they deactivated my car after a false accident claim by a passenger. I proved my car was fine and it was technically reactivated but I stopped getting rides. I moved to Birmingham and like two months later the insurance company calls to let me know they'd resolved my case which surprised the hell out of me until I remembered about the opportunistic bitch who said she was injured when I hit a pot hole. I moved back to Atlanta and drove some more for a while. It's bullshit in general but it can be easy money. Then out of nowhere they email me to tell me they're going to deactivate my driver account because my car doesn't meet minimum qualifications for the area. "Well you can do Uber Eats," as if that's supposed to make me feel better and I think I let some poor Indian woman know as much with some profanity sprinkled in. And you know what? After finally getting a hold of some ass in San Francisco and telling him I'd never work for them again, I do Uber Eats now. I usually make less than minimum wage. People don't always take jobs because they want them and sometimes people will take any job out of desperation or because it's the least worst option.
Fuck the gig economy and especially anyone who thinks it's positive in any way