
Uber drivers say earnings are falling, and many have no other income - hhs
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-17/uber-drivers-say-earnings-fall-and-many-have-no-other-income
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colechristensen
There has to be a place for flexible/on-demand work these days along with a
fair way to restrict it so an intentionally unreliable job doesn't become the
one thing many people rely on for a paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle.

Maybe it's something along the lines of getting "employee" protections once
you do a certain amount of work which will result in it being much more
difficult/competitive to get those "employee positions" and people who work
less will be in higher demand / be paid more.

The real problem, I think, is how much money is being sucked away from nearly
everyone for real estate which is ending up being owned by banks earning
mortgage payments or investment groups earning rent. There's no particularly
strong reason why this should be allowed to happen, but it is.

I pay far more for rent than I do for taxes, and the former group only
"deserves" all of this money because they "own". They do and have done very
little in the way of actual useful work.

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malandrew
They may have done a lot of useful work in order to have the money to purchase
that asset. Most homes are paid for using the fruits of useful labor.

~~~
colechristensen
This is the core of the issue, doing hard work which allows you to permanently
purchase the hard work of others in a way which grows and compounds.

I'm fine with it in certain contexts, moreso when the investment involves risk
and uncertainty.

But being able to buy and collect rent (in various ways) from the basics of
life (and scaling that rent up to market rates, or the highest anyone will pay
without leaving) ... causes me, and society, problems.

~~~
austhrow743
>But being able to buy and collect rent (in various ways) from the basics of
life (and scaling that rent up to market rates, or the highest anyone will pay
without leaving)

This is how every other good in society works though and it generally works
out in the consumers favour. Food is right up there with shelter in the basics
of life and it's been driven way down as a percentage of labour that we have
to perform in order to earn it. Same as clothing.

The problem is that housing has super high constraints on it and that's
largely caused by private home ownership not landlords. It creates
protectionism for land value reducing supply driving up both home prices and
rent costs. Then because getting a place to rent becomes an ordeal,
instability in your current living situation becomes a big deal, so theres a
bunch of protection around eviction. Then because you can't boot someone
easily you be more selective, vet harder, more likely to leave it vacant if
you cant find someone good; which reduces supply even further.

There are no policies keeping the price of food or pants high because 99.9% of
us benefit from low prices for those things which makes it harder to do
politically. The same cannot be said for housing. Sure the amount of people
that benefit from high rent is a tiny percentage of the population but its
intrinsically linked to housing prices overall, which a lot of people do
benefit from being high.

If 99.9% of people rented then abundant and cheap housing would be a priority
for government at all levels. Renting isn't the cause of societal problems,
it's private ownership. Specifically, politically active private ownership.

~~~
colechristensen
The problems com from people profiting from "owning" housing. It shouldn't be
an investment, period.

~~~
austhrow743
Profit is the motive that gets people to build things, period.

~~~
colechristensen
If I build a home, I do it because I want a place to live, not profit, don't
be foolish.

~~~
austhrow743
And what, everyone becomes a builder? Lol. Don't you be foolish.

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88840-8855
I have heard that amazon is temporarily hiring 100k people. Just work there!
/s

Honestly, this is not the fault of Uber or Lift or any other company. This is
clearly a systematic problem. Regulate uber - then it becomes not
"competitive", drivers will lose their jobs and will be forced into another
dead-end, low-wage, not secure job.

It is the system.

~~~
MuffinFlavored
> I have heard that amazon is temporarily hiring 100k people. Just work there!
> /s

Curious, why is that sarcasm? Are you insinuating the average Uber driver is
not cut out for the work of picking groceries / fulfilling orders at Amazon?

~~~
greycol
I think the sarcasm is just highlighting the 'oh just do something else'
refrain is not as easy as just saying it.

It may be that easy single in your 20s and with a bit of savings (or the
ability to search while still employed) but no one should really be saying it
as throwaway line as it diminishes the hardship involved and how people really
behave.

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herpderperator
I got a notification today (Bay Area) from the UberEats app saying that they
will not charge any delivery fee for all local restaurants. That ought to help
the restaurants and drivers, though I wonder how Uber can keep that up since
it will eat right into their profits...

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TheFiend7
Uber has been bleeding money for awhile now. What has kept them afloat is the
fact that people keep using them and their fleet of drivers. But if people
stop doing that, it's going to get real hairy for Uber and Lyft.

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Tycho
Maybe Uber could sell credits to their customers and pass the money through to
the drivers. I mean I won’t be using Uber much at the moment but eventually I
will. Buying ride credits at a discount would make sense.

~~~
dillondoyle
You can pre-pay uber for a small discount - but I highly doubt that money goes
to drives.

[https://www.uber.com/us/en/ride/how-it-works/uber-
cash/](https://www.uber.com/us/en/ride/how-it-works/uber-cash/)

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codingslave
Took a lyft today in Socal, the driver told me I'm the first person he gave a
ride to in six hours. Hes worried how he will make any money at all in the
next few months.

~~~
waynecochran
I am hoping that folks who are in industries that are shutting down can find
other work in industries that are ramping up. If you are an Uber driver you
obviously should _not_ be driving right now unless it is to a job interview.
Don't wait. You know the outlook is grim for awhile.

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ConsiderCrying
The problem isn't unique to this industry, yeah. But it's still a shame
considering that Uber and Lyft drivers are already not having the easiest
time.

Also, am I wrong to think that the recovery won't be too swift even after the
quarantine is lifted? For one, the economy will be hit hard so fewer people
will take taxi rides. Plus, many people will likely keep fearing social
interaction and being locked in a car with a person that drives strangers
around all day could put people off. Our (modern) society hasn't dealt with
this type of thing before so there's not really an easy path to recovery.

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73u4hdhdhe
Obviously this means California should intervene even more on behalf of its
gig workers. If earnings are forced to 0 then they can only go up afterwards!

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virtualpresence
Depending on their location Amazon is hiring 100K employees. Not sure what the
positions will be but I'm pretty sure some will be for deliveries

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mkolodny
Based on the U.S. Department of Labor's release a couple days ago, it sounds
like states are responsible for creating laws to pay benefits where workers
aren't working due to the coronavirus [0]. Importantly, "federal law does not
require an employee to quit in order to receive benefits due to the impact of
COVID-19".

I wish federal laws were put in place to protect people's income during the
outbreak. I wonder whether Trump is passing the buck to states to avoid
backlash against himself.

[0]
[https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/eta/eta20200312-0](https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/eta/eta20200312-0)

~~~
rurp
This is especially problematic becuase, unlike the federal govt, states can't
run a defecit, which severly limits what they can do in a recession.

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tinyhouse
What about Uber eats?

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stunplay
uber was supposed to be a supplementary income no ?

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namdnay
??? Not only does Uber not limit the hours you can do, it explicitly
encourages you to do more in the form of quotas you need to meet to get
bonuses

