CEO of Uber: Gig Workers Deserve Better
There are two points I think that need to be raised here:<p>1) GDP-Per-Capita has grown steadily and is at an all-time high
<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;data.worldbank.org&#x2F;indicator&#x2F;NY.GDP.PCAP.KD?locations=US" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;data.worldbank.org&#x2F;indicator&#x2F;NY.GDP.PCAP.KD?location...</a><p>2) Real wages per capita have stagnated since the 70s
<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.pewresearch.org&#x2F;fact-tank&#x2F;2018&#x2F;08&#x2F;07&#x2F;for-most-us-workers-real-wages-have-barely-budged-for-decades&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.pewresearch.org&#x2F;fact-tank&#x2F;2018&#x2F;08&#x2F;07&#x2F;for-most-us...</a><p>So in general, productivity per worker has increased. Amazon can move more products direct to your home with fewer people than was possible in 1970. Greater and greater value is being generated in the economy due to these increasing efficiencies.<p>Yet the suggestion that businesses should pay their workers who enable this value proportionately gets responses that we will be squashing economic potential, dragging these enterprises down, etc.<p>Instead Walmart, Amazon, etc. use these great efficiencies of scale to compete on lower prices. Which totally does have economic benefits, but it also pushes out competition. Local stores can&#x27;t compete with an international megacorp&#x27;s productivity leverage, so we end up with a Walmart in every town and Amazon boxes on our doorstep. Is that truly an economic plus? It sure is nice in some ways, but are all those warehouse workers Amazon employs really new jobs? Or are they replacing a similar or greater number of jobs that were previously providing those same goods and services in a decentralized manor?