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I'm not a fan of VC either but this is unfair. (1) VCs have mostly funded the employment of well educated white collar workers. How else do computer science gr

I'm not a fan of VC either but this is unfair. (1) VCs have mostly funded the employment of well educated white collar workers. How else do computer science graduates get paid $120-150k 2 years out of college in the US? (2) There are horrible employers of low skilled workers out there. You ever tried to work in a restaurant kitchen in a city like NYC? You're being paid $25-40k to do absolutely brutal work for brutal hours. Nobody talks about this because there are no evil rich investors involved - just hard working business owners. The divide has always existed. It's just more news worthy now and has a large brand in front of it. Delivery companies are at least offering some level of competition in this horrible labor market.

908B64B197 5y ago
> Nobody talks about this because there are no evil rich investors involved - just hard working business owners. Remember, it's fashionable to bash on "Big Tech" these days.
lumost 5y ago
There is an important distinction for many workers between the hard labor ina restaurant and the hard labor done for Uber for X. There is a chance with diligent effort that you can become manager for the restaurant or even start your own. The restaurant is even notionally liable for unemployment and minimum wage laws. Uber for X means permanent hard labor at low wages with no possibility for advancement or improved conditions.
- 908B64B197 5y ago
  Just learn to code!
  - lumost 5y ago
    Uber has between 3 and 4 million drivers compared to 29000 employees. If you follow the HN and Blind comment threads there is substantial belief that they could survive with half to 1/4th that number. Even assuming that only 10% of Uber drivers care about advancement and learn to code that would create 300k new software engineers, far more than Uber could ever hope to employee. In fact this would be more software engineers than the total number of engineers employed by the top 5 tech companies by market cap.
- MarkSweep 5y ago
  Another thing I’m not sure the “independent contractors” who work for Uber for X get: workers’ compensation. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workers'_compensation https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workers'_compensation
passivate 5y ago
Agreed with some of your comment, but I think the gig economy is much worse than simply being underpaid at a regular job. An example: https://twitter.com/doctorow/status/1424034689799516161 https://twitter.com/doctorow/status/1424034689799516161
- greenyoda 5y ago
  Link to the same text on Doctorow's blog, where it's easier to read: https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/07/hr-4193/#boss-app https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/07/hr-4193/#boss-app

908B64B197 5y ago

> Nobody talks about this because there are no evil rich investors involved - just hard working business owners. Remember, it's fashionable to bash on "Big Tech" these days.

lumost 5y ago

There is an important distinction for many workers between the hard labor ina restaurant and the hard labor done for Uber for X. There is a chance with diligent effort that you can become manager for the restaurant or even start your own. The restaurant is even notionally liable for unemployment and minimum wage laws. Uber for X means permanent hard labor at low wages with no possibility for advancement or improved conditions.

908B64B197 5y ago
Just learn to code!
- lumost 5y ago
  Uber has between 3 and 4 million drivers compared to 29000 employees. If you follow the HN and Blind comment threads there is substantial belief that they could survive with half to 1/4th that number. Even assuming that only 10% of Uber drivers care about advancement and learn to code that would create 300k new software engineers, far more than Uber could ever hope to employee. In fact this would be more software engineers than the total number of engineers employed by the top 5 tech companies by market cap.
MarkSweep 5y ago
Another thing I’m not sure the “independent contractors” who work for Uber for X get: workers’ compensation. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workers'_compensation https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workers'_compensation

passivate 5y ago

Agreed with some of your comment, but I think the gig economy is much worse than simply being underpaid at a regular job. An example: https://twitter.com/doctorow/status/1424034689799516161 https://twitter.com/doctorow/status/1424034689799516161

greenyoda 5y ago
Link to the same text on Doctorow's blog, where it's easier to read: https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/07/hr-4193/#boss-app https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/07/hr-4193/#boss-app