The gig is up: America's booming economy is built on hollow promises - Robert Reich

[Demovictory9]

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jun/02/gig-economy-us-trump-uber-california-robert-reich
Uber just filed its first quarterly report as a publicly traded company. Although it lost $1bn, investors may still do well because the losses appear to be declining.

Uber drivers, on the other hand, aren’t doing well. According to a recent study, about half of New York’s Uber drivers are supporting families with children, yet 40% depend on Medicaid and another 18% on food stamps.

It’s similar elsewhere in the new American economy. Last week, the New York Times reported that fewer than half of Google workers are full-time employees. Most are temps and contractors receiving a fraction of the wages and benefits of full-time Googlers, with no job security.

Across America, the fastest-growing category of new jobs is gig work – contract, part-time, temp, self-employed and freelance. And a growing number of people work for staffing firms that find them gig jobs.

The standard economic measures – unemployment and income – look better than Americans feel
Estimates vary but it’s safe to say almost a quarter of American workers are now gig workers. Which helps explain why the standard economic measures – unemployment and income – look better than Americans feel.

The jobs problem today isn’t just stagnant wages. It’s also uncertain incomes. A downturn in demand, change in consumer preferences, or a personal injury or sickness, can cause future paychecks to disappear. Yet nearly 80% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck.

[RKP5637]

1. A hollow man in a hollow suit making bullshit comments in the White House who can do nothing but lie

[trev]

2. The greatest economy ever!

Yay, Trump!

[Blue_true]

3. I agree with his synopsis. Our economy has very deep structural problems.

I see that on a ground level where I live. We have rich people and really, really poor people and I see examples of both each day. People driving around in $96,000 Mercedes, seemingly fully detailed, at a traffic light beside a car that has windows or even a fender taped up with duct-tape.

The question is how do we best solve those problems. If we rely solely of a higher hourly pay rate, we are going to get a result where lower paid people are falling behind at the same rate, at a higher expense level. We need targeted housing options where working people can live inexpensively and safely in high quality housing. We need healthcare that anyone can access affordably WHEN they need it. We need effective public transportation and we need broadband coverage or public access computers in all areas, since most jobs now are posted online with the decline of local newspapers.

[A HERETIC I AM]

4. What will it take for the people to demand real change?

Perhaps when it becomes clear that a majority are hungry while the minority has so much that it is throwing food away.

[pansypoo53219]

5. wages are not keeping up w/ progress.