
Uber’s actual contribution to American employment is relatively trivial - jamessun
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/11/uber-is-not-the-future-of-work/415905/?single_page=true
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6stringmerc
So let's have a look at one quote by Uber:

 _Most tellingly, Plouffe said that “for most people, driving on Uber is not
even a part-time job …it’s just driving an hour or two a day, here or there,
to help pay the bills.”_

...and let's compare it with another associated statistic:

 _The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that from 2007 to 2014 the bottom 87
percent of workers faced falling or stagnant wages, and the bottom 80 percent
endured falling or stagnant compensation (which includes wages and benefits)._

Yeah, does kind of sound like the "gig economy" is the future of work, because
if there's such a blatant stagnation of wage growth, then it's not surprising
people will look to any low-barrier entry point to making some money. Pretty
disheartening situation that I don't see changing any time soon. I thought the
white-collar "independent contractor" scenario wasn't very appealing, and
watching it seep into a bule-coller, low-skill business model doesn't sit very
well with me. YMMV.

