Hillary Clinton Plans To Campaign Against Uber’s Contractor Economy

[joshcryer]

As if Uber needed more enemies. Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will blast contractor-fueled companies for repressing middle-class wage growth in a speech tomorrow laying out her economic policies, according to an outline of the talk attained by Politico’s Michael Grunwald.

Clinton plans to make raising middle class incomes a focus of her campaign, and will lay out her strategy at The New School in Manhattan on Monday. Along with globalization and automation, Clinton will peg the sharing economy as “conspiring against sustainable wage growth”, according to Politico. The report says “she will argue that policy choices have contributed to the problem, and that she can fix it.”

The logic seems to be that if big job creators are only offering contractor positions that typically lack the benefits, advancement opportunities, and job security of full-time positions, they don’t contribute to building a country with sustainable wage growth. Before, full-time taxi drivers might have be able to rely on their future income to make investments in owning a home or putting a child through college. Full benefits might have protected them from downturns that could suddenly cripple a family’s socioeconomic mobility, like an expensive medical condition.

http://techcrunch.com/2015/07/12/clinton-uber/

Uber is the up and coming very pro-silicon valley type of upstart that gets around all the "restrictions" of "government encroachment." Slamming Uber is seriously a major gambit here. If she mentions Uber by name even once I will be utterly gobsmacked.

[BooScout]

1. so you think....

That contractor's who don't offer any employee benefits, a wage that workers can support themselves with, full time positions, and job security when they only hire employees on limited term contracts is a good thing then? All so you can have a cheap taxi ride?

[pnwmom]

2. I doubt that's what he thinks. I suspect he thinks it would be brave

to take a strong position against uber, et al.

[joshcryer]

5. Indeed.

Uber is literally the quintessential Silicon Valley upstart megacompany. (Technically it's based out of San Fransisco but it's investors come from Silicon Valley and the mentality is the same.)

If Clinton calls them out by name I will be shocked. Utterly so.

[joshcryer]

3. Nope.

But Silicon Valley does. Uber is going to go to automated driving eventually. They don't give one shit about their drivers either short term or long term. That Clinton is apparently taking them on this early on the stage shocks me.

[pipoman]

7. "Automated driving"?..we are a few years out from that..

And that will affect more jobs than just cab drivers...

[CBGLuthier]

4. hey now, Uber is a great way to make money

Unfortunately most of that money goes into the pockets of the Uber CEO Travis Kalanick but no denying it sure does make the money. Meanwhile its drivers can risk losing insurance, getting sued, and wearing down their personal vehicles all while clearing about ten bucks an hour, if they are lucky.

Sounds like the American dream to me.

[joshcryer]

6. The true American dream, for sure.

[HassleCat]

8. What?

Taxi drivers? In most places, cab drivers are independent owner-operators. I guess some are regular, full time employees who get an hourly wage, heath benefits, etc. But many taxi operators own their own vehicles and buy their own hack licenses. The next time Ms. Clinton takes a cab, she might want to inquire of the driver just what situation exists. I think she shot wide of the mark on this one. But the sentiment is great, I must admit.

[riversedge]

9. K and thanks for the post