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The Gig Economy Workforce Will Double In Four Years (recode.net)
The number of workers in the so-called gig economy will grow substantially in the coming years, according to a study by Intuit and Emergent Research. By 2021, the study finds, 9.2 million people are going to be working the frontline jobs at companies like Uber and Lyft. That number is projected to be 4.8 million this year. From a report: The rise in on-demand workers has been fueled largely by startups like Uber, TaskRabbit and Airbnb. It has also helped companies like Intuit, which makes tax software QuickBooks and TurboTax. The company's stock surged to an all-time high yesterday thanks to the gig economy. For context, there are currently more gig workers than people employed in the entire information sector (which includes publishing, telecommunication and data processing jobs) and IT services combined, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Also read: A recent piece on The New Yorker which talks about the lengths to which people are willing to go to survive in such jobs -- a horrifying culture that is often celebrated in those companies.
To make Jeff Bezos richer!
Gig work is a synonym with 1099 contracting.
There are plenty of us out here (especially in IT) that make very good livings doing contract work (I call each contract I have a 'gig').
Let's face it. If you are going to go this route, you need to put on your big boy pants, and think like an adult.
If you find a contract, and can negotiate a bill rate that will cover you wages, your insurance, your retirement and give you time to take off (no work hours no pay, remember?)...then you are working a gig that can be a primary source of income.
If you are working a contract that does not give you this type of bill rate, you either figure "this is not my customer", or you are doing this just as some side money to supplment your "real job" which mostly likely could be a W2 job.
But please, lets not get the govt to throw out the baby with the bathwater, MANY people for many years, have enjoyed working 1099. You are your own boss. You decide where your retirement investments are going. YOU decide what and how much insurance you need.
To do this on a full time basis, you have to be and adult, now how to budget, put money aside for periods between contracts (sometimes you may want to take a month off)....
But please...lets keep in mind, all these people are adults, and they can and should make their own decision and live with the consequences of such.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
Seems to me that Uber is pushing for automated cars to avoid having to pay drivers. That leaves the backend maint and infrastructure people and those are not gig based.
It will continue to rise steadily until all of a sudden, overnight, automated vehicles are approved and it crashes virtually overnight. People going into this sure as hell better have a backup plan.
The business community sells this as "being your boss" or "being in business for yourself" or whatever to sell you the idea of being an independent contractor.
Because that way they can pass on the overhead costs onto the worker as well as the business risk. See, most folks under the delusion that they'll work 40+ hours a week and there will plenty of work.
Nope.
I don't care what you do, there will be dry spells. Now, do these "gig" companies allow the worker to to work for other businesses as well at the same time? Nope.
They want you all to them lonesome selves and when the project is over, well it's out the door and tough shit if you aren't working and not getting paid. Not their problem: but god forbid if you take on a project during theirs.
See, the gig businesses want their cake and eat it too and not gain weight. They want a flexible workforce but aren't willing to compensate workers for it.
It's a raw deal for the worker. (If your are one of those lucky folks who have some sort of esoteric skilllset where you can get your $2,000/day - good for you. But the rest of us are lucky to get 30% above the market rate for salaried folks. Chump change. It should be 100%)
Oh! And health insurance. Even with Obamacare still around, getting insurance on your own still sucks.
And Uber. I have neighbor who is an Uber driver. He hates but does it because he's in his late 50s and software dev jobs just disappeared - for him. Too bad he doesn't have the skills: C#.NET - that's what they say in his rejection emails.
The Gig economy will double in four years
I.e. there will be a whole lot more unemployment in 4 years than today, and most of you won't find another job and will be forced to scrimp by on whatever money you can make doing odd jobs, cleaning toilets, driving for uber, or wiping the ass of the 1%. Enjoy your new world order.
I've been a self employed contractor for over 25 years and I recall back in 90s that the IRS used to require that you did work for more than just one company when sub contracting work, otherwise you were considered an employee if you worked exclusively for one company despite having your own insurance and tools. I made sure to sub work from several companies until I finally became a real contractor and had my own customers. How do uber and the drivers get around this? They only work for one company. Uber could end up getting fined and having to pay FICA portions of the employees wages.
Did the rules change? Is the IRS selective in what industries they police?
Stay tuned! Same bat channel, same bat time
Your entire quality of life in America is based on your job. Healthcare, time off, time for your children, pensions... There's been an understanding that if you work hard for your company they'll take care of you. Whether that was ever really true or not the good economy blows it all up.
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One of the most insightful comment in "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki was when Rich Dad said: "Why climb the corporate ladder when you can own it?"
If you're working for a corporation and expect the corporation to make you rich, you're doing it wrong.
A corporate job should pay the bills while you nurture a side business that will eventually replace your income from the corporate job. Work as an owner, not an employee.
WHO IS SETH RICH?
A CALL TO ACTION: "THEY" HAVE COMPLETELY LOST CONTROL OF THE SETH RICH MURDER COVERUP. HERE IS HOW YOU BLOW IT COMPLETELY OPEN:
Write "Who killed Seth Rich" and / or "Who is Seth Rich" neatly on every piece of U.S. currency you get your hands on, neatly, in indelible ink, preferably with a fine point sharpie that does not draw thick. Spend the cash as usual. Anyone who ends up with that cash will be hit with that question, and is likely to become interested in finding out what happened (if they don't already know)
The MSM can claim it is a hoax all they want, and they will still lose. They can't win this, it is GAME OVER for them. With the internet getting censored, and the media full of lies, this is how we do it.
Obviously Google is going to kick in the manipulation, to drive people to an approved answer to that question. So you can additionally kill this by writing "google sethrichdoc.jpg". The photo I put on my site has been picked up everywhere and is the top hit on Google even though Google won't show you this site as the source. That will explain it ALL while the MSM lies, and google spews for officialdom.
HA HA HA, take a look at this!
They are not fooling ANYONE with ISIS anymore
A couple days ago I reported about how ISIS (tm) had invaded the Philippines. Well, RT just covered the story. Here's some text, AND LOOK AT THE COMMENTS!
Here is some article text:
"The Maute group confronting the Philippine army in Marawi City is no longer considered a local terrorist organization as it has been reinforced by jihadists of Malaysian, Indonesian and "other nationalities, " the country's authorities have announced.
"Before it was just a local terrorist group. But now they have subscribed to the ideology of ISIS. They want to make Mindanao as part of the caliphate, " Solicitor General Jose Calida told a news conference, according to Reuters.
"What's happening in Mindanao is no longer a rebellion of Filipino citizens" but "has transmogrified into an invasion by foreign terrorists who heeded the clarion call of the ISIS to go to the Philippines if they find difficulty in going to Iraq or Syria, " Calida added, as cited by InterAksyon news.
Now look at the comments!
"As Philippines aligned towards China and Russia, US has activated its powerful operatives "ISIS", to create disturbance in Philippines."
"He learned from his CIA class every terrorist need a adversary and every adversary needs a terrorist"
"USA is a terrorist Country. NATO is a terrorist organization"
" no comment you, re right mate absolutely 100%"
"Duterte starts to have better relations with China and Russia - ISIS suddenly appears...."
"Yeah. I'm surprised the regime change plan hasn't been enacted by now. It will start with protests in Manila followed by a violent, US-backed coup complete with US-paid mercenaries."
"Trained in Syria by the CIA and MOSSAD"
"Trained in Saudi Arabia and Jordan, not Syria."
"Trained in Turkey as well"
"Any of them wearing George Soros T-shirts?"
"Oi Vey; I wonder who could possibly be behind this...."
" The shekel masters?"
"Like clockwork - Phillipines move away from USA influence and then they get terrorists, who have been supported by USA in the middle east"
"We Jews are the destroyers. We will always be the destroyers. Nothing you do will ever meet our needs and demands." - Maurice Samuel
"and they question China building defenses right in the middle of the zone. China patrols the sea to try and prevent pirate terrorists doing business. The US patrols shouting its big mouth."
" China should patrol the South China Sea , quietly escorting any American Navy vessels . China should also be very careful with Pakistan , its military officers are Wahhabi . They used to do intel for Saudi Arabia. However the biggest threat to China is its recent "interest" in GMO foods. Only Japan has done studies for longer than 3 months . Banned across Europe and Russia , etc."
See the rest of the reports and how the comments evolved HERE
Slavery is the new working 9-to-5-with-healthcare-and-defined-retirement-benefits!
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
America, unlike a lot of the rest of the first world, has tied most of the social safety net--retirement, insurance, etc-to private employers instead of the state for the past few decades.
Setting aside any discussion of whether this is a good or bad way to do things, a dramatic shift from a employer-based workforce to a gig-based workforce without a commensurate redirection of the safety net is cause for considerable concern.
The gig economy doesn't pay well enough to make up the difference in lost benefits for the worker. That's one of the big reasons employers like it--it's a lot cheaper. This is gonna kick us in the teeth as a country as gig workers start to age, get hurt, get sick, and need care.
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Who marked this Offtopic ???
Since it is abused more than it is well-used, better to just end the practice.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
Perhaps we need to throw out the baby with the bathwater and the rest of the family inside, since contracting is primarily used as a benefit dodge. Kill it and you bring back some sanity to the job market.
In addition, retirement/benefits do not scale well at the individual level - unlike traditional regularized work.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
While there may be a few that do well enough to make it work, the majority do it only for a lack of other choices. You might be able to choose to forgo a regularized W-2 job, but not many others can. For most people, being able to refuse work is firmly in the dream category.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
Yet you are wrong.
Such industries rely on the majority being unable to choose an alternative to their uncertainty or benefit dodging practices.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.