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I guess part of why I posted that is the audience - I imagine in submitting this article to HN, it is meant to resonate with two subsets of people here: 1. Ent

I guess part of why I posted that is the audience - I imagine in submitting this article to HN, it is meant to resonate with two subsets of people here: 1. Entrepreneurs running gig economy startups and the implications for how they should treat their workforce 2. Tech workers who work in the gig economy (e.g. Gigster developers, PullRequest reviewers, independent developers) So I read this and bring up my point because it seems like contract work, inherently, is not the problem. The problem is, what others have mentioned, that the government regulates employment in such a way that we tie benefits like health insurance to the employers, and do not align incentives properly. Would you say that's an accurate assessment?

zardo 9y ago
Yes. Man is a featherless biped may work to describe the category. But if you give a tax break based on the number of men living in each home, you'll find a lot of people plucking chickens.
gech 9y ago
So as the next step you support moving from employer-tied benefits to universal health care?
Chaebixi 9y ago
> I guess part of why I posted that is the audience - I imagine in submitting this article to HN, it is meant to resonate with two subsets of people here: That's a pretty limited view. There are plenty of non-entrepreneurs on HN who are looking for interesting technology and tech-related society articles. It could also be meant to resonate with people who just think that the gig economy is questionable development. > So I read this and bring up my point because it seems like contract work, inherently, is not the problem. The problem is, what others have mentioned, that the government regulates employment in such a way that we tie benefits like health insurance to the employers, and do not align incentives properly. Would you say that's an accurate assessment? I don't agree with that. I think the problem with contract work, especially the gig economy kind, is that it's a further progression of the dehumanization of work. More an erosion of the social contract than a failure of government regulation. That dehumanization reduces the buffers between actual people and the more sociopathic aspects of capitalism.
gaius 9y ago
3. The customers without whom these sleazy companies could not exist. But Uber is oh-so-convenient, who cares about the societal consequences, right?
- cbeach 9y ago
  Drivers choose Uber when other options are available. So why would you judge that, and imagine that your view of “societal consequences” should trump their right to freely choose the best employment option for them and their personal situation?
  - gaius 9y ago
    trump their right to freely choose the best employment option for them and their personal situation Yes, because of the externalities. If an Uber driver in London gets sick, he or she will still be treated by the NHS despite Uber’s business model involves paying no employer’s NI. If you want to say the NHS simply shouldn’t treat those who don’t contribute well that’s a whole ‘nother thing...
    - cbeach 9y ago
      Why would the developers of Uber pay employer’s NI for people using their smartphone app? Uber drivers are self-employed and pay tax accordingly.

zardo 9y ago

Yes. Man is a featherless biped may work to describe the category. But if you give a tax break based on the number of men living in each home, you'll find a lot of people plucking chickens.

gech 9y ago

So as the next step you support moving from employer-tied benefits to universal health care?

Chaebixi 9y ago

> I guess part of why I posted that is the audience - I imagine in submitting this article to HN, it is meant to resonate with two subsets of people here: That's a pretty limited view. There are plenty of non-entrepreneurs on HN who are looking for interesting technology and tech-related society articles. It could also be meant to resonate with people who just think that the gig economy is questionable development. > So I read this and bring up my point because it seems like contract work, inherently, is not the problem. The problem is, what others have mentioned, that the government regulates employment in such a way that we tie benefits like health insurance to the employers, and do not align incentives properly. Would you say that's an accurate assessment? I don't agree with that. I think the problem with contract work, especially the gig economy kind, is that it's a further progression of the dehumanization of work. More an erosion of the social contract than a failure of government regulation. That dehumanization reduces the buffers between actual people and the more sociopathic aspects of capitalism.

gaius 9y ago

3. The customers without whom these sleazy companies could not exist. But Uber is oh-so-convenient, who cares about the societal consequences, right?

cbeach 9y ago
Drivers choose Uber when other options are available. So why would you judge that, and imagine that your view of “societal consequences” should trump their right to freely choose the best employment option for them and their personal situation?
- gaius 9y ago
  trump their right to freely choose the best employment option for them and their personal situation Yes, because of the externalities. If an Uber driver in London gets sick, he or she will still be treated by the NHS despite Uber’s business model involves paying no employer’s NI. If you want to say the NHS simply shouldn’t treat those who don’t contribute well that’s a whole ‘nother thing...
  - cbeach 9y ago
    Why would the developers of Uber pay employer’s NI for people using their smartphone app? Uber drivers are self-employed and pay tax accordingly.