"Gig economy" rips off everyone

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The OP pretends that gig workers are some kind of indentured servants without free will.

Many people, particularly stay at home Mom's benefit from the flexibility of the gig economy.

When you see a job ad that reads, "Perfect for students, retirees and stay at home moms," you know you are being ripped off by an employer who doesn't want to pay what the job is really worth. If you don't know that by now....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The OP pretends that gig workers are some kind of indentured servants without free will.

Yes, they are just like indentured servants. If you can't feed your family and are out of choices, you're forced to take a job with no benefits that all Americans are entitled to for very little pay. Then you get paid a small amount as an indepenent contractor but get told to do by your "boss/not-your-boss" just like an employee. You make just enough to live on plus gas and repairs on your car. That's it. No movies, no cable, no restaurants -- nothing. Nothing. You have to work time and a half to make ends meet so can't apply for "real" jobs. Your clothes get worn out and you dress worse and worse because you can't afford to replace them, and the chance of getting out gets slimmer and slimmer. But at least you are alive. At least you can feed your kids and pay rent. This is America?????

Yes, it feels just like being an indentured servant.

Oh please. The internet doesn't care what time day or night you apply for jobs. I was in the gig economy for a while and had no issue applying for jobs when my kids were in bed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve had a side gig for years. No one forced me to choose to deliver flowers by gig rather than getting a full-time job at a flower shop.

It’s a choice. Of course I’m not dependent on it and my main job pays my mortgage so it’s all about how you position yourself.

I agree. I work for Uber part-time. It’s awesome to make money whenever and wherever I want to with no boss telling me what to do. I think ita makes compete sense for gig workers to be independent contractors. Btw the tax writeoffs are an absolute JOKE compared to what I used to file with just my W2 job.
I pay barely any taxes on my Uber income despite making decent earnings at my W2 job. I write off all of the mileage, part of my cell phone bills, registration, taxes, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve had a side gig for years. No one forced me to choose to deliver flowers by gig rather than getting a full-time job at a flower shop.

It’s a choice. Of course I’m not dependent on it and my main job pays my mortgage so it’s all about how you position yourself.

I agree. I work for Uber part-time. It’s awesome to make money whenever and wherever I want to with no boss telling me what to do. I think ita makes compete sense for gig workers to be independent contractors. Btw the tax writeoffs are an absolute JOKE compared to what I used to file with just my W2 job.
I pay barely any taxes on my Uber income despite making decent earnings at my W2 job. I write off all of the mileage, part of my cell phone bills, registration, taxes, etc.

You're not allowed to write any of that off your taxes unless you use your car and cell phone exclusively for work. Otherwise you are cheating.

[Anonymous]

Good luck to all of your who scoff at this. The economy is taking and many of you will be forced into the gig economy full time, just like many Americans after 2008. Come back in a year or two and tell us all what you think then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good luck to all of your who scoff at this. The economy is taking and many of you will be forced into the gig economy full time, just like many Americans after 2008. Come back in a year or two and tell us all what you think then.

Ok. Bookmarked.

The fact of the matter is, these jobs are GOOD. They give people in between other jobs sources of income instead of clogging up the broken government assistance programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve had a side gig for years. No one forced me to choose to deliver flowers by gig rather than getting a full-time job at a flower shop.

It’s a choice. Of course I’m not dependent on it and my main job pays my mortgage so it’s all about how you position yourself.

I agree. I work for Uber part-time. It’s awesome to make money whenever and wherever I want to with no boss telling me what to do. I think ita makes compete sense for gig workers to be independent contractors. Btw the tax writeoffs are an absolute JOKE compared to what I used to file with just my W2 job.
I pay barely any taxes on my Uber income despite making decent earnings at my W2 job. I write off all of the mileage, part of my cell phone bills, registration, taxes, etc.

You're not allowed to write any of that off your taxes unless you use your car and cell phone exclusively for work. Otherwise you are cheating.

That is absolutely not true. I am fully allowed to deduct the miles I use driving for Uber. I separate them from my personal miles and everything is tracked/logged. I am also able to deduct the other expenses based on the percentage I use them for my business.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good luck to all of your who scoff at this. The economy is taking and many of you will be forced into the gig economy full time, just like many Americans after 2008. Come back in a year or two and tell us all what you think then.

Ok. Bookmarked.

The fact of the matter is, these jobs are GOOD. They give people in between other jobs sources of income instead of clogging up the broken government assistance programs.

I agree 100%. They give people a buffer if needed. If I lost my job today I could transition seamlessly into working for Uber full time since I’m already approved on their platform. I would look for other jobs in my spare time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The OP pretends that gig workers are some kind of indentured servants without free will.

Yes, they are just like indentured servants. If you can't feed your family and are out of choices, you're forced to take a job with no benefits that all Americans are entitled to for very little pay. Then you get paid a small amount as an indepenent contractor but get told to do by your "boss/not-your-boss" just like an employee. You make just enough to live on plus gas and repairs on your car. That's it. No movies, no cable, no restaurants -- nothing. Nothing. You have to work time and a half to make ends meet so can't apply for "real" jobs. Your clothes get worn out and you dress worse and worse because you can't afford to replace them, and the chance of getting out gets slimmer and slimmer. But at least you are alive. At least you can feed your kids and pay rent. This is America?????

Yes, it feels just like being an indentured servant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good luck to all of your who scoff at this. The economy is taking and many of you will be forced into the gig economy full time, just like many Americans after 2008. Come back in a year or two and tell us all what you think then.

Ok. Bookmarked.

The fact of the matter is, these jobs are GOOD. They give people in between other jobs sources of income instead of clogging up the broken government assistance programs.

I agree 100%. They give people a buffer if needed. If I lost my job today I could transition seamlessly into working for Uber full time since I’m already approved on their platform. I would look for other jobs in my spare time.

Good luck. You will make just enough to survive and when your car needs a repair -- which will happen often, since you'll be using it so much -- you'll be screwed.

[Anonymous]

Plenty of people I know work in the gig economy and really like the money and flexibility.

The problem is California is trying to ban the gig economy jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The OP pretends that gig workers are some kind of indentured servants without free will.

Yes, they are just like indentured servants. If you can't feed your family and are out of choices, you're forced to take a job with no benefits that all Americans are entitled[u] to for very little pay. Then you get paid a small amount as an indepenent contractor but get told to do by your "boss/not-your-boss" just like an employee. You make just enough to live on plus gas and repairs on your car. That's it. No movies, no cable, no restaurants -- nothing. Nothing. You have to work time and a half to make ends meet so can't apply for "real" jobs. Your clothes get worn out and you dress worse and worse because you can't afford to replace them, and the chance of getting out gets slimmer and slimmer. But at least you are alive. At least you can feed your kids and pay rent. This is America?????

Yes, it feels just like being an indentured servant.

No, nobody is entitled to anything...you need to earn it!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The OP pretends that gig workers are some kind of indentured servants without free will.

Yes, they are just like indentured servants. If you can't feed your family and are out of choices, you're forced to take a job with no benefits that all Americans are entitled to for very little pay. Then you get paid a small amount as an indepenent contractor but get told to do by your "boss/not-your-boss" just like an employee. You make just enough to live on plus gas and repairs on your car. That's it. No movies, no cable, no restaurants -- nothing. Nothing. You have to work time and a half to make ends meet so can't apply for "real" jobs. Your clothes get worn out and you dress worse and worse because you can't afford to replace them, and the chance of getting out gets slimmer and slimmer. But at least you are alive. At least you can feed your kids and pay rent. This is America?????

Yes, it feels just like being an indentured servant.

Lots of indentured servants died from the brutality of their labor, so, driving an Uber is probably not just like that.

[Anonymous]

Americans deserve to earn a living wage.

A person should be able to work a 40 hour a week job and feed her/his family.

Wages have not kept up with inflation.

Anyone disagree?

[Anonymous]

The question for me is: "who benefits?"

It's a good deal for the people at the top of these platform companies and customers seem to be getting what they want (lower costs, more convenience). It also works if the gig job is just gravy on top of household that has a solid base income, savings and benefits.

As a way of life for the folks actually doing it for a living. Not so much for them, it seems. Of course, they just need to get bigger bootstraps, become a lawyer or move to where the jobs pay well (assuming they can get affordable housing).