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Comment by specialist | Hacker News Reader

Uber drivers invest $20k for opportunity to earn $15/hr.

How much do your contracting friends invest? What's their compensation?

That's not fair. It's like claiming that airbnb hosts spend 500k to earn 100 dollars a night. Most people own cars anyways, this is an opportunity for them to make money off of that investment.

Unfair how? That's the calculus.

The sharing economy, gig economy, concessionaire model, MLM ponzi, franchise system, value-added reseller channel are minor variations of a time proven wealth transfer scheme.

The mark provides the capital and labor, and carries most of the risk.

The landlord, platform, broker, aggregator extracts all of the profit, value, wealth.

Any time a serf prospers is accidental. And quickly remedied.

By any other name, right?

It's be nice if the critics would reject the frame. Instead of phrases like late stage capitalism, just speak plainly.

It's feudalism. Repackaged and rebranded. But still just plain old feudalism.

Most of the cost of a car is in mileage based depreciation--especially in areas where rust from salt in the winter isn't a problem.

Do uber drivers really not want or need cars for anything other than uber? Some of the places I get uber - there are no sidewalks.

One irony, all the gig economy workers do make a car a LOT less necessary if you are in an area well served by them.

That's pretty region-specific. I've never owned a car or held a driving license and it isn't much of an inconvenience

So are you claiming Uber drivers buy cars solely for the purpose of becoming Uber drivers?

That is true of most drivers who depend on the income for a living.

Yes? Is this a trick question?

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