Poor worker conditions power gig economy | FT Alphaville
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► Subscribe to FT.com here: http://on.ft.com/2eZZoLI With the push of a button, apps let us summon services, from taxis to takeaways, to our location. But do they make the world more efficient? In an FT investigation, Izabella Kaminska reveals how the gig economy is being powered by poor working conditions. ► Subscribe to the Financial Times on YouTube: http://bit.ly/FTimeSubs For more video content from the Financial Times, visit http://www.FT.com/video Twitter https://twitter.com/ftvideo Facebook https://www.facebook.com/financialtimes
Comments
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Yeah, the future is fucked.
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In a consumer economy nothing comes discounted or free. The climate, the staff, the profits or the consumer someone will pay the price.
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if u work retail at a big box store and you ain't stealing stuff (not cash tho), then you are a fool.
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Yep, I am an Uber slave... Time to move on...
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Bloody hell, all these left-wing academics and lawyers... Deliveroo is not an essential service, and if it becomes too expensive as a result of labour cost, then fewer people will use it and riders will be laid off. The business might also collapse. And then those riders won't even be able to earn their wages. No one wins from this.
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you are very wrong. these businesses do what all do, that is seek to maximise profit. The fact that they are successful only means that consumers are getting a greater utility/greater benefit from these firms rather than their substitutes. I do not see Uber or any other firms becoming a monopoly it is clearly an Oligopoly.
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Brave new world
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If anyone is to really blame, it is consumers who are not willing to pay a fair price. Uber, Lyft etc are trying to get customers to use the app for commutes, not just once in a while taxi hailing. That requires different pricing. It might seem like the Uber model is not sustainable now, but when vehicles become even cheaper (smaller, lighter) and maybe semi autonomous (with some remote control), the cost to run will drop. Once the system is firmly entrenched, prices will probably increase. People will realize that the total cost of ownership of a personal car is higher than Uber. The tech companies in the gig space spend lots of time analyzing the whole market, and what they are doing is likely optimal for all parties. If not, the system will break, and they don't want that to happen.
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So we now know the truth! It is just about writing stuff on the internet! Fantastic insight! Looking forward to more of your stuff!
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Great Video. Thanks!
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