Why
the “Sharing Economy” is hurting workers, and what we must do
By
Robert Reich
To see this on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_Snob8-6xM
In
this holiday season it’s especially appropriate to acknowledge how many
Americans don’t have steady work.
The
so-called “share economy” includes independent contractors, temporary workers,
the self-employed, part-timers, freelancers, and free agents. Most file 1099s
rather than W2s, for tax purposes.
It’s
estimated that in five years over 40 percent of the American labor force will be in
such uncertain work; in a decade, most of us.
Already two-thirds of American workers are living
paycheck to paycheck.
This
trend shifts all economic risks onto workers. A downturn in demand, or sudden
change in consumer needs, or a personal injury or sickness, can make it
impossible to pay the bills.
It eliminates labor protections such as the minimum wage, worker safety, family and medical leave, and overtime.
And
it ends employer-financed insurance – Social Security, workers’ compensation,
unemployment benefits, and employer-provided health insurance under the
Affordable Care Act.
No
wonder, according to polls, almost a quarter of American workers
worry they won’t be earning enough in the future. That’s up from 15 percent a
decade ago.
Such
uncertainty can be hard on families, too. Children of parents working
unpredictable schedules or outside standard daytime working hours are likely to
have lower cognitive skills and more behavioral problems, according to new research.
What
to do?
Courts
are overflowing with lawsuits over whether companies have misclassified
“employees” as “independent contractors,” resulting in a profusion of criteria
and definitions.
We
should aim instead for simplicity: Whoever pays more than half of someone’s
income, or provides more than half their working hours should be responsible
for all the labor protections and insurance an employee is entitled to.
In
addition, to restore some certainty to people’s lives, we need to move away
from unemployment insurance and toward income insurance.
Say,
for example, your monthly income dips more than 50 percent below the average
monthly income you’ve received from all the jobs you’ve taken over the
preceding five years. With income insurance, you’d automatically receive half
the difference for up to a year.
It’s
possible to have a flexible economy and also provide workers some minimal level
of security.
A
decent society requires no less.
ROBERT B. REICH, Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at
the University of California at Berkeley and Senior Fellow at the Blum Center
for Developing Economies, was Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration.
Time Magazine named him one of the ten most effective cabinet secretaries of
the twentieth century. He has written fourteen books, including the best
sellers “Aftershock, “The Work of Nations," and"Beyond Outrage."
He is also a founding editor of the American Prospect magazine and chairman of
Common Cause. His film, INEQUALITY FOR ALL is available on Netflix, iTunes,
Amazon. His new book, "SAVING CAPITALISM: For the Many, Not the Few"
is out 9/29.