Quote (bogie160 @ 19 Mar 2021 00:09)
Wow, that is far higher than I thought it would be. This is a complete non-issue.
I don't really care about the official definition between contractor and employee. It's the value of the service that matters. There are an awful lot of us who can drive, and who wouldn't mind doing it for a little bit of extra income.
The value of the gig economy is that it provides individuals with a less formal, quicker, and easier source of immediate income. Need to close some holes in the pocket book? Start ubering in your spare time. Have a few extra hours on the week-end and bills to pay? Start delivering food. Do you need a job at odd hours because you're in school and nothing else works? Uber is available.
Taxi drivers are not getting a "leg up" in the world, at least not in the sense that there's much advancement opportunity. They're taking advantage of a monopoly to gouge their customers. Good riddance.
The gig economy IS a problem though when significant amounts of people have to rely on it to pay for the bulk of their monthly living expenses, rather than to pay for unexpected, one-off expenses.