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> But actually what will happen is that they will get automated and then have no job. I find this to be a lazy argument because the conclusion is that you shou

> But actually what will happen is that they will get automated and then have no job. I find this to be a lazy argument because the conclusion is that you should never try to improve your situation ever. Also the easy counter to this is to establish a welfare state by taxing profits across the board (not that this could successfully be done in the US). The counter to that argument is that capital will flee overseas. The counter to that argument is to do what China did and remind the tech oligarchs who is really in charge. The counter to that argument is that it's bad to do that because property rights are sacred. At the end of the day though, we should really want for all citizens to have as high of a living standard as possible. I think their humanity is a better argument than any alternatives that economists can come up with.

mytailorisrich 3y ago
Gig workers, especially food delivery, do a very low productivity job that consumers don't want to pay a lot for. So, really, it cannot be well-paid. It's either crap pay or the job disappears. This is a classic balancing act between jobs and workers protection/level of minimum wage.
- Xelynega 3y ago
  It sounds more like a"job that nobody wants to do" and a "service nobody wants to pay for" that Uber et. all are exploiting labour laws to profit from by providing it in an unsustainable way that governments are afraid to regulate because of the money being made. This is classic late stage capitalism more than it is some "balancing act" imo.
- green_man_lives 3y ago
  I can agree with this take. I think if the job can't exist after reasonable regulation is enacted, then it shouldn't exist.
- skyyler 3y ago
  >Gig workers, especially food delivery, do a very low productivity job that consumers don't want to pay a lot for If you compare the prices on doordash or similar apps to the prices inside the restaurant, you'll find that what you said just isn't true. It seems some people are comfortable paying more for the delivery than the food itself.
  - Ekaros 3y ago
    How much does the delivery person get, and how much is rent seeking by the platform? I think reasonable thing to always consider is how many deliveries does average person make in hour and then price of each of them. And after that remove taxes and expenses. Now could this be lived on or not is sensible question.
    - skyyler 3y ago
      That's a different discussion. Though, I have to imagine, if there wasn't rent-seeking from the platform, and the driver got all of the fees charged to the user, the pay might not be as bad.
  - mytailorisrich 3y ago
    "Some" people are comfortable paying 1million for a car... But overall, the market is that people are not willing to pay a lot for delivery, or perhaps if they order very rarely. Here in the UK I think you'd hard pressed to find delivery beyond £4 on, say, Delivery and average is lower than that. Since delivery is factually low productivity wages cannot be anything but very low and this is compounded by the use of a middleman (the platform).

mytailorisrich 3y ago

Gig workers, especially food delivery, do a very low productivity job that consumers don't want to pay a lot for. So, really, it cannot be well-paid. It's either crap pay or the job disappears. This is a classic balancing act between jobs and workers protection/level of minimum wage.

Xelynega 3y ago
It sounds more like a"job that nobody wants to do" and a "service nobody wants to pay for" that Uber et. all are exploiting labour laws to profit from by providing it in an unsustainable way that governments are afraid to regulate because of the money being made. This is classic late stage capitalism more than it is some "balancing act" imo.
green_man_lives 3y ago
I can agree with this take. I think if the job can't exist after reasonable regulation is enacted, then it shouldn't exist.
skyyler 3y ago
>Gig workers, especially food delivery, do a very low productivity job that consumers don't want to pay a lot for If you compare the prices on doordash or similar apps to the prices inside the restaurant, you'll find that what you said just isn't true. It seems some people are comfortable paying more for the delivery than the food itself.
- Ekaros 3y ago
  How much does the delivery person get, and how much is rent seeking by the platform? I think reasonable thing to always consider is how many deliveries does average person make in hour and then price of each of them. And after that remove taxes and expenses. Now could this be lived on or not is sensible question.
  - skyyler 3y ago
    That's a different discussion. Though, I have to imagine, if there wasn't rent-seeking from the platform, and the driver got all of the fees charged to the user, the pay might not be as bad.
- mytailorisrich 3y ago
  "Some" people are comfortable paying 1million for a car... But overall, the market is that people are not willing to pay a lot for delivery, or perhaps if they order very rarely. Here in the UK I think you'd hard pressed to find delivery beyond £4 on, say, Delivery and average is lower than that. Since delivery is factually low productivity wages cannot be anything but very low and this is compounded by the use of a middleman (the platform).