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Uber and Lyft drivers are being classified as contractors,
Don't you mean Uber & Lyft drivers voluntarily sign up as independent contractors? No one is holding a gun to their head, right?
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Originally Posted by ocnjgirl
Uber and Lyft are profiting
You seem to have a very non-standard definition of profit. Neither Uber nor Lyft are profitable at anything whatsoever.
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Originally Posted by ocnjgirl
through avoidance of taxes
Do tell: what tax are they avoiding?
From one of your other posts:
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Originally Posted by ocnjgirl
Because I'm not a business oriented person.
It's OK not to be business oriented, and it shows here, but surely you see that a company that is unable to earn a profit does not exist in the long run. Neither Uber nor Lyft are capable of turning a profit as currently constituted. The only question is how long will they survive losing money.
We’re just going to agree to disagree about that. Cosl mines didn’t start using automated equipment to mine coal because the coal miners asked for too much. They automated because equipment was developed that allow them to.
Lots of manufacturing jobs went out of the country in a big part because unions and workers kept pushing for higher wages. There was a tipping point where the added cost of shipping the finished products back here as well as the cost to produce the items were much cheaper than using American workers. Obviously most of these gig jobs cannot be outsourced overseas so the next thing will be automating those jobs.
Lots of manufacturing jobs went out of the country in a big part because unions and workers kept pushing for higher wages. There was a tipping point where the added cost of shipping the finished products back here as well as the cost to produce the items were much cheaper than using American workers. Obviously most of these gig jobs cannot be outsourced overseas so the next thing will be automating those jobs.
I don’t agree with that either. Even if they would have worked for $3 an hour it was still more than Chinese workers. They also got tax breaks for going over. Walmart accelerated it as with telling companies like Rubbermaid they had to if they wanted to stay in their stores. I do not think for one second that if unions didn’t exist we’d Still be making TVs here, it’s just not so.
It’s ludicrous to think companies won’t automate as long as employees keep their traps shut and take what ever crumbs they’re offered. Once the technology really is here and more fully developed it’s going to be used to replace humans no matter how low paid. As the CEO of Carl’s Jr. famously said, automation doesn’t get hurt on the job, get sick or take vacations. They don’t have to leave to pick up a sick kid from school. They work 24/7 without a break. No human no matter how low paid, can compete with that.
Look at car washes. Car washes used to be all humans, now most of it is automated. Despite the fact there was never a time when car wash employees were unionized or well paid. The car wash I used to go to was a combination of humans and automation. Two employees, a developmentally disabled young man and one Russian girl who had both been there at least 10 years would wash your wheels and scrub stains before it went into the automated part, then they’d hand dry what the machine missed. I highly doubt they much more than min wage, the rest was tips. Yet when it got sold, the new owners automated it completely and got rid of those two employees. They did it because they could, the technology was there. Not because the two employees asked for too much money.
I don’t agree with that either. Even if they would have worked for $3 an hour it was still more than Chinese workers. They also got tax breaks for going over. Walmart accelerated it as with telling companies like Rubbermaid they had to if they wanted to stay in their stores. I do not think for one second that if unions didn’t exist we’d Still be making TVs here, it’s just not so.
It’s ludicrous to think companies won’t automate as long as employees keep their traps shut and take what ever crumbs they’re offered. Once the technology really is here and more fully developed it’s going to be used to replace humans no matter how low paid. As the CEO of Carl’s Jr. famously said, automation doesn’t get hurt on the job, get sick or take vacations.
Retail service though is bottom rung. No skills needed, not even a HS diploma.
And those types of jobs are ripe for automation. And the automation has advanced quickly.
If I were to give advice to some of these uber workers I'd tell them "trades"..electricians and plumbers are jobs end up paying quite well, provide opportunities for self employment and are currently "protected" from illegals swooping in and working for cash because both require county/state licenses.
Really doesn't take too much to get into those fields...trade school, exam for apprenticeship license, 5 year apprentice under a master electrician, another exam and they are licensed electricians making some dang good money. It's skilled labor vs unskilled labor.
Look at car washes. Car washes used to be all humans, now most of it is automated. Despite the fact there was never a time when car wash employees were unionized or well paid. The car wash I used to go to was a combination of humans and automation. Two employees, a developmentally disabled young man and one Russian girl who had both been there at least 10 years would wash your wheels and scrub stains before it went into the automated part, then they’d hand dry what the machine missed. I highly doubt they much more than min wage, the rest was tips. Yet when it got sold, the new owners automated it completely and got rid of those two employees. They did it because they could, the technology was there. Not because the two employees asked for too much money.
I agree that this will hurt small businesses the most. The requirement about not doing work central to the company's business is very subjective. I could see how overzealous application of this new law could mean all of a sudden you have a dozen new part time employees. This pushes more paperwork and reporting on to the small business, rather than the contractor.
Another reason why we're glad we left CA years ago. The rules should be the same as the IRS.
If your business is civil engineering, you can outsource your accounting department and any other function not related to "engineering".
When the cost of insuring employees has reached $20k+ per person for a ACA grade plan. Why would companies absorb that cost for transient workers? How about asking riders to pay 40% more than what they were paying before. A $12 ride will go up to $18. This means a short ride could jump from $6 to $15 just to go 5-6 blocks.
When the cost of insuring employees has reached $20k+ per person for a ACA grade plan. Why would companies absorb that cost for transient workers? How about asking riders to pay 40% more than what they were paying before. A $12 ride will go up to $18. This means a short ride could jump from $6 to $15 just to go 5-6 blocks.
Just because their status is changed from contractor to employee doesn’t mean they have to provide insurance of any type. There is no mandate that employers provide anything beyond a salary.
When the cost of insuring employees has reached $20k+ per person for a ACA grade plan. Why would companies absorb that cost for transient workers? How about asking riders to pay 40% more than what they were paying before. A $12 ride will go up to $18. This means a short ride could jump from $6 to $15 just to go 5-6 blocks.
And then you're just paying for a another "taxi" which was too expensive which is what made uber/lyft popular.
When my son was in college him and his friends used uber to go out on Friday nights.
They used uber because it was much cheaper than the taxi service.
To tell you the truth it gave me a huge peace of mind cause none of them were driving.
Just because their status is changed from contractor to employee doesn’t mean they have to provide insurance of any type. There is no mandate that employers provide anything beyond a salary.
Um yes..ACA mandates or did you forget ?
50 full time employees...MANDATED health insurance must be offered.
So either uber hires 49 F/T "employees" or uber makes all those contractors limited to 29 hours.
Then again, once they are "employees" the union will step in and they become unionized.
Now you are in a whole different realm of negotiations.
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