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Hillary Clinton Takes Aim At 'Gig Economy'

SonicSpike writes with an excerpt from Marketwatch that says at least one major candidate in the 2016 electoral fight has made the "sharing economy" epitomized by Uber and Airbnb a campaign issue. In a major campaign speech in New York City, the former secretary of state didn't mention the ride-sharing service by name. But it was pretty clear what sort of companies she was talking about when she got to how some Americans earn money. "Many Americans are making extra money renting out a spare room, designing websites, selling products they design themselves at home, or even driving their own car," she said at the New School. But that sort of work comes with its own problems, she said. "This 'on demand' or so-called 'gig economy' ... is raising hard questions about workplace protections and what a good job will look like in the future," Clinton added.

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  1. Re:In Other Words... by PopeRatzo · · Score: 5, Interesting

    .We need to figure out how to kill it with regulations so that my big corporate donors can sleep soundly at night.

    Think. Are big cab companies among Hillary Clinton's big corporate donors? I'd say she's a lot more likely to get money from Uber than from non-existent multi-national cab companies.

    I have no love for Hillary Clinton and will not vote for her, but it's reasonable to talk about what the American workplace is going to look like if the corporations have their way. Maybe you're OK with taking in peoples' wash and sewing for low pay, no benefits or sick days, and a friendly "fuck you" when you're too old to work, but most people are not.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  2. Juat another euphemism... by ewhenn · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The term 'gig economy" is just a euphemism for day laborer. We did this back before unions when there would be lines of people waiting to work, if you got hurt or sick they tossed you out with the rest of the rubbish and hired another replaceable and worthless person to take your place. Is this really what we want to go back to?