Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Rita Trichur writes that an attempt to boost the economy solely through monetary policy will predictably lead to even worse inequality – meaning it’s necessary for governments to instead intervene through fiscal policy to ensure that growth is shaped to be fair and
Continue readingTag: uber
Things Are Good: UK: Uber Drivers are Employees not Individual Entrepreneurs
Uber drivers in the UK will now get better treatment from Uber thanks to the courts ruling the company can’t as robustly exploit their drivers. The way drivers get gigs and subsequently paid by the company structurally mean the company has control all aspects of the process, which means the
Continue readingThings Are Good: Governments Reacting to the Failures of the Gig Economy
According to economists the economy is the labour market is fine as unemployment is relatively low. The truth is different from the on-paper measurements. High employment numbers don’t mean much if the jobs don’t pay well and the working conditions are miserable. The modern “gig economy” is to blame for
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Uberrific!
Cover-ups!Scandals! Sexual harassment!Tax evasion! Employment standards violations! Deliberate dishonesty!And all in the service of a business model built on becoming too big to ban while operating as a regulatory-evasion company! Yep, that sounds like the Saskatchewan Party’s kind of business. Which means the only question left is: how much public
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Right-wing newspaper owners want your taxes to subsidize their obsolete, mismanaged, biased publications
PHOTOS: A typical daily newspaper press, once a common sight in small cities and larger towns throughout North America. This one was photographed through a window Tuesday in Brigadoon, Alberta, so it should be good as is for another 10 years. Oh, wait, I made it out of town this
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Uber in the US – Predatory (the usual) Capitalism
Well here we go, another lesson on how exploiting the poor is the goto plan for making the big bucks in our society, only lets give it a snappy title – the new sharing economy. Let’s look at how the new sharing economy looks a bunch like the old economy. “A livery driver for […]
Continue readingTrashy's World: The anti Uber argument…
… reminds me of the old story of the electric light and the candlestick makers… NO! The candlestick makers said. We invested. We thought our industry would last forever! The electric light makers don’t have to go by the same rules! IT…
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: How to break from the pack in a 32 candidate by-election race
Thirty-two candidates will be listed on the ballot in the Feb. 22 by-election to fill Edmonton City Council’s Ward 12. With this many candidates on the ballot, it could be challenging for voters to choose who would best represent them on… Cont…
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: Uber and the Luddites
The fight against the sharing economy, and Uber in particular, can be disorienting. Opposition is often painted as techno-phobia. The good guys in this story are Uber and progress; on the other side are opponents afraid of flexibility and smartphones, kicking and screaming against a future already here. In many ways, this is like the […]
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta Politics: Who will run to succeed Amarjeet Sohi in the Ward 12 by-election?
On Oct. 19, City Councillor Amarjeet Sohi was elected as a Member of Parliament in the federal riding of Edmonton-Mill Woods. With Mr. Sohi’s resignation from city council in order to take his seat in the House of Commons, and his… Continue Reading →
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta Politics: The Uber versus Taxi fight goes provincial
The debate over alternative car services gripping city hall in Edmonton may spill over into the Alberta Legislature. According to Lobbyist Registry reports, both Uber and a union representing taxi drivers have acquired the services of well-known lobbyists to help the corporation navigate… Continue Reading →
Continue readingPolitical Eh-conomy: No thanks Uber, I’m not signing your petition
So the ride-sharing app Uber is urging Vancouverites to sign a petition on its site to put pressure on the City to allow Uber to operate. An ad for the petition invaded my Twitter feed and I decided to take a closer look. Here’s the petition with my commentary. Spoiler:
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: Tech on the Side: Airbnb vs Uber and the power of mobile
Airbnb and Uber are similar in many ways. They both use tech (particularly mobile) to solve a distribution problem and they are both market darlings with skyrocketing valuations. They are both massively disrupting the established hotel and taxi industries respectively, complete with significant legal battles in these highly regulated industries
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: Tech on the Side: Airbnb vs Uber and the power of mobile
Airbnb and Uber are similar in many ways. They both use tech (particularly mobile) to solve a distribution problem and they are both market darlings with skyrocketing valuations. They are both massively disrupting the established hotel and taxi industr…
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: Tech on the Side: Airbnb vs Uber and the power of mobile
Airbnb and Uber are similar in many ways. They both use tech (particularly mobile) to solve a distribution problem and they are both market darlings with skyrocketing valuations. They are both massively disrupting the established hotel and taxi industries respectively, complete with significant legal battles in these highly regulated industries
Continue readingThings Are Good: A Call to Think Bigger About Transit
The way we get around in North America is changing from a work-home orientation to a node based network with multiple destinations. At first cars were used to fulfil this but as traffic worsens we need to rethink how we all get around. The solution, of course, is to kick
Continue readingeaves.ca: Uber in Vancouver: Some Thoughts for the Passenger Transportation Board
So last week the B.C. Passenger Transportation Board (PTB) effectively shut down Uber in Vancouver by compelling the rides they arrange must charge a minimum $75 a trip, regardless of distance. Shortly after being announced, twitter lit up as Uber notified its customers of the decision and the hashtag #UberVanLove began directing angry (and deserved) […]
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