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Consider one ycombinator company,Uber. Do they generate wealth? From the point of view of a NYC taxi driver they are directly taking both the customers and the

Consider one ycombinator company,Uber. Do they generate wealth? From the point of view of a NYC taxi driver they are directly taking both the customers and the value of the drivers medallions. In return,uber drivers work giving 1/3 of their earnings to a company because that company built the software and lobbied the governments (presumably eventually) to allow this new form of public transport. It doesn't seem any different to the past. Those with the connections, capital and technology take a large share of the wealth being generated by the actual workers.

ohthehugemanate 11y ago
I think this explanation ignores a lot of value. If all the value is really generated by the workers and the boss is just coopting it through connections and technology, then the workers individually should be able to to generate as much value,or at least wealth (as a proxy for value). But that's not the case. You can drive around all day as a freelance taxi driver sure. You'll get sued by the taxi monopoly of course, and riders won't trust you, and you won't have stable rates or work, and you won't know where to go to get fares, and you'll have to deal with your own payment system and accounting, and and and... The value that a business owner generates is, at a minimum, coordinating the diverse people and elements to make regular work at regular pay possible. And that's if there is NO management required, or technology, or special access, or or or. In fact the "technology and connections" which you dismiss, is an important part of the value that the owner brings to
dkural 11y ago
Most drivers prefer Uber. Uber takes value away from the middlemen, takes a smaller share of the middleman cut, and redistributes the remaining value to the driver and the passenger. Hence its popularity. Most of the profit in the old system accrues to the taxicab company + medallion holder. Uber does hurt these folks, by giving more of the pie to the driver, who can now drive without owning a medallion & is not hurt by this barrier-to-entry, and Uber provides the rest as a discount to the passenger, who receives a better overall service at the same time (you see where the car is + estimated time, ratings, GPS, etc.)
- smileysteve 11y ago
  > Most drivers prefer Uber. Uber takes value away from the middlemen, takes a smaller share of the middleman cut, and redistributes the remaining value to the driver and the passenger. Hence its popularity. This is a primary result of the "fragmentation" caused by the corruption of the medallion and taxi corporations. If drivers had continued (in some cases) to be direct owners of the medallions or if Taxi corporations had not directed many of the profits to the top, then the answer of driver and consumer choice would be less known. More drivers likely prefer Lyft if the market of riders exists (Lyft takes a lower cut and is less harsh), and that eventually lower cost (even free / open source) alternatives are taking over (Spain).
tim333 11y ago
Uber is not a ycombinator company. To me they add value through the app.
- justinhj 11y ago
  Thanks for pointing that out, that was just an assumption on my part that turned out to be false.

ohthehugemanate 11y ago

I think this explanation ignores a lot of value. If all the value is really generated by the workers and the boss is just coopting it through connections and technology, then the workers individually should be able to to generate as much value,or at least wealth (as a proxy for value). But that's not the case. You can drive around all day as a freelance taxi driver sure. You'll get sued by the taxi monopoly of course, and riders won't trust you, and you won't have stable rates or work, and you won't know where to go to get fares, and you'll have to deal with your own payment system and accounting, and and and... The value that a business owner generates is, at a minimum, coordinating the diverse people and elements to make regular work at regular pay possible. And that's if there is NO management required, or technology, or special access, or or or. In fact the "technology and connections" which you dismiss, is an important part of the value that the owner brings to

dkural 11y ago

Most drivers prefer Uber. Uber takes value away from the middlemen, takes a smaller share of the middleman cut, and redistributes the remaining value to the driver and the passenger. Hence its popularity. Most of the profit in the old system accrues to the taxicab company + medallion holder. Uber does hurt these folks, by giving more of the pie to the driver, who can now drive without owning a medallion & is not hurt by this barrier-to-entry, and Uber provides the rest as a discount to the passenger, who receives a better overall service at the same time (you see where the car is + estimated time, ratings, GPS, etc.)

smileysteve 11y ago
> Most drivers prefer Uber. Uber takes value away from the middlemen, takes a smaller share of the middleman cut, and redistributes the remaining value to the driver and the passenger. Hence its popularity. This is a primary result of the "fragmentation" caused by the corruption of the medallion and taxi corporations. If drivers had continued (in some cases) to be direct owners of the medallions or if Taxi corporations had not directed many of the profits to the top, then the answer of driver and consumer choice would be less known. More drivers likely prefer Lyft if the market of riders exists (Lyft takes a lower cut and is less harsh), and that eventually lower cost (even free / open source) alternatives are taking over (Spain).

tim333 11y ago

Uber is not a ycombinator company. To me they add value through the app.

justinhj 11y ago
Thanks for pointing that out, that was just an assumption on my part that turned out to be false.