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Comment by deegles | Hacker News Reader

I don't see anyone besides Uber winning in the Uber economy. It's right in the name. Forcing Uber and other ride-sharing companies to classify their resources as employees will only give them further incentive to automate. Once that happens (5 years, 10 max) it will be a moot point how a driver would be classified.

Very few people wake up in the morning and say "Gee, I'm so excited to drive for Uber today! I don't need the extra money, I just love it!" The sharing economy is only possible because of income inequality. Granted, ride-sharing is letting a tiny drip of income back into the driver's wallets, but it's temporary.

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What % of jobs do you think people would do even if they didn't need the money?

I spoke with an old friend from university recently.

Apparently his younger brother (also at university with us in the late 90's) struck it lucky with a company he helped start up, and is now rich enough that he doesn't need to work. He is planning on consulting part time, as he wants something to fill his days (other than just kayaking - we all met through the university kayak club).

Sure - I know a guy who retired from trading in mid 40s and is now a math teacher because he likes that. But if our society relied on people working because they chose to (as opposed to needed to) we probably wouldn't have one.

That's one thought experiment I conduct - imagine we find out that a comet is going to approach Earth in 6 months. My main problem is us having to deal with 6 months of chaos (since nobody will be working) rather than instant annihilation.

It really is not ride-sharing. Blablacar you share the ride and part of the costs. Uber and similar are taxi companies.

"Gee, I'm so excited to drive for Uber today! I don't need the extra money, I just love it!"

I've never taken an uber, but I've met many uber drivers, and I've actually heard this several times.

It's not like they are being forced to work, and many like the random interaction with people better than sitting at home.

I know one retired guy that drives for Uber on occasion. He sold his family business to his son and has more money than I wold know what to do with, but drives Uber just for fun.

Anyway, I have no real point, but these people exist.

The sharing economy is not caused by income equality, it is caused by entrepreneurs doing new things, finding ways around regulation which normally prevents competition and protects established business, and finally because many people are always looking for a means to supplement their income. That last point is usually most important as many tend to over extend their resources let alone many who do operate as uber drivers are not poor considering they own and insure a car

People work for money, not a shocking revelation.

>'Tiny drip of income into the drivers wallets'

80% goes to drivers.

80% of revenue and 99.9% of the expenses go to the drivers. So it's quite probable that Uber gets most of the profits.

Where's your post analyzing taxi driver wages? Or server wages.

Because bosses always get most of the profits.

It also works out pretty well for Uber's customers, compared with how things were before Uber.

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