Steven Hill on the Uber Economy: A Public Forum

The development of increasingly sophisticated communications technology has resulted in the rise of a new economic model, the “sharing economy,” or as our December speaker, Steven Hill, calls it in the title of the recent book, the “Uber Economy.” This new economy abolishes the traditional employment of a steady job with defined pay and benefits. Workers become “independent contractors,” “freelancers,” or even “entrepreneurs.” Employers present themselves as “information platforms,” as “apps,” bringing together those offering services and those who need them, traditionally known as customers. The new model minimizes responsibilities toward these “contractors.”

Does this model make life better for working people? In Raw Deal: How the "Uber Economy" and Runaway Capitalism are Screwing American Workers (http://www.RawDealBook.com) Steven Hill argues that it doesn’t. As he says in a recent Salon article: “The purveyors of the new economy are forging an economic system in which those with money will be able to use faceless, anonymous interactions via brokerage websites and mobile apps to hire those without money by forcing an online bidding war to see who will charge the least for their labor, or to rent out their home, their car, or other personal property.”

Raw Deal proposes pragmatic policy solutions to transform the US economy and its safety net and social contract, launching a new kind of deal to restore power back into the hands of American workers.

Steven Hill has previously spoken to PDA-SF on his book "Europe's Promise: Why the European Way is the Best Hope in an Insecure Age" (http://www.EuropesPromise.org). He is also the author of "10 Steps to Repair American Democracy" (http://www.10Steps.net)

Sponsored by Progressive Democrats of America–San Francisco (sanfranpda [at] aol.com)