How the hustle and gig economy is choking the middle class

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

For Emmanus Stephen, an Uber driver from Asbury Park, New Jersey, earning enough to pay the bills means strategizing carefully about where he will work each day.

Local, short-distance rides near his home on the Jersey Shore are convenient for him, but they don't pay well — "You drive all day and you can make $100," says the father of six.

So to pay the bills, he'll often drive the 45 miles to Newark Liberty International Airport, where he can shuttle travelers on longer distance, more lucrative trips. He works all night to beat the New Jersey traffic, then heads home at 4 a.m., dropping his children off at school before getting some shuteye.

With Uber preparing for an IPO, the issue of whether gig economy workers like Stephen can earn a living wage is likely to reemerge. For publicly traded companies, the issue of social impact is a growing issue.

Many gig economy workers are part-timers doing freelance work on the side, to supplement paychecks from full-time jobs. There are 15.8-million independent workers who are full-timers, according to The State of Independence in America 2018 report by MBO Partners, which studies the freelance economy.

For those millions of full-time gig workers, getting recognized as a full-fledged employee — at Uber, Lyft and elsewhere — is not coming anytime soon. This week the Department of Labor clarified that these workers are to be classified as independent contractors that are not entitled to health insurance and other benefits that would force companies to follow federal minimum-wage laws. (However, companies still have to abide with local minimum wage requirements.)

-more-

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/how-the-hustle-and-gig-economy-is-choking-the-middle-class/ar-AAATxK3?li=BBnb7Kz

[Dennis Donovan]

1. I grew up in the 80's, post-Industrial America...

...where Zenith and RCA were crushed by Sony and Panasonic. My first TV was an RCA ColorTrak:

[SoCalDem]

4. My tv.......

We loved that thing and it cost A LOT back in the day

[empedocles]

2. The oversupply of labor, domestic and intern'l, drives down wages for all but the top.

[Merlot]

3. I wish they would quit refering to it as a part-time supplimental income

Many gig economy workers are part-timers doing freelance work on the side, to supplement paychecks from full-time jobs. There are 15.8-million independent workers who are full-timers,

Eventually more an more people will only have only "gigs" which would be fine if they could also have insurance and enought money to live.

[MichMan]

5. Don't Uber and Lyft drivers get to pick their own hours and where they want to work ?

I would think that the flexibility is one of the aspects of the job that people like. Would that be able to still be the case if they were regular employees or would they be assigned hours and locations they didn't want?

[LanternWaste]

6. I think the premise of the article is making a living wage doing so

I think the premise of the article is making a living wage doing so, rather than any one individual cost or benefit to the employee.