Posted on 12/05/2018 9:39:12 AM PST by lowbridge
Government needs to stay out of the wage business.
Its $200 plus expenses
“No Uber is hemorrhaging money like a cash hemophiliac... they have ZERo prayer at profitability without autonomous vehicles which, in reality, are at least 2 decades away. The fact gullible investors keep giving them cash is mind boggling”
Uber is private equity financed by very wealthy venture capital investors. I think your worries about their naivety are misplaced.
Uber has a market cap, on paper, far bigger than FedEx, but has almost none of the overhead. Of course, there are lower barriers of entry to their market than overnight shipping, but both companies are transportation / logistics companies. So, the comparison is valid.
FedEx has billions of dollars tied up in vehicles, jets, and real estate. Uber has some software and a relatively small number of employees. Drivers supply the most expensive pieces of their business model: vehicles and workers. Uber does not have to spend a dime on vehicles or employees in order to fulfill their main business purpose. After peeling away the complexities of legal, executive management, accounting, acquisitions (including things like GIS software), Uber is essentially a very valuable smart app.
The reason for bleeding money is their efforts to expand while maintaining their first-to-market position in the industry. This entails political lobbying (worldwide), innovating, and marketing (including the expense of new customer acquisition and retention with things like free rides or being a loss leader).
Uber does not have to add self-driving vehicles to become profitable. They are a cost-plus service. They just have to remain competitive and reach a point where their business model does not demand reinvesting all of their revenues into the business.
They are well positioned for when self-driving technology takes off. This will probably be much sooner than you think. My best guess is that it will be commonplace in 5-10 years but this will depend on the cost of insurance for autonomous vehicles falling below the cost of human drivers. The ability to retrofit existing vehicles with this technology will greatly impact the speed at which it is adopted.
The higher the mandated wages the more tax the state collects.
Just reason #564,222 to NOT go to NYC.
The Left are bloody idiots. As always with their policies, fewer workers will make more at the expense of consumers, the lower demographics of which will be priced out of these services.
From the article, here’s another unintended consequence to follow this rule:
“Lyft said in statement that ‘the TLC’s proposed pay rules will undermine competition by allowing certain companies to pay drivers lower wages, and disincentives drivers from giving rides to and from areas outside Manhattan.’ The company said the formula will provide the opposite effect from that stated and intended by the TLC, and lead to more congestion as drivers prioritizing shorter trips and congregate in denser areas.”
Besides being fascists who admire the Adolph Hitler economic model of the Third Reich, by what authority does the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission have to set wages and benefits?
Examples like this is why we will soon witness government buildings burned to the ground in fascist NYC. And turning government bureaucrats into toast will be led by illegals whom the rat party loves. I guarantee it.
I have never understood why a government, ANY government is able to dictate the terms and conditions of an employment contract between two willing participants.
Where is it written in the U.S. Constitution that a state, local or the federal government can dictate a salary arrangement between a worker and employer??
I don’t get it.
Great summary of Uber!!
I don’t use these services, but when I see news stories about them they are usually foreigners - and I suspect they are supplementing regular jobs with this. Users I know swear by the program, but so would the rickshaw rider a century ago.
Around the country, using these whenever I travel, rarely have I encountered obvious foreign or immigrant workers. Most are clearly lifelong US drivers, mix of mid- and sometimes older drivers. Most notable observation is that most are new to driving for Uber.
I’m in northeastern NJ, where half the fares are foreigners as well (Americans are steadily evacuating the area). The types of foreigners driving here are similar to those that work office-cleaning jobs at night, but these are a little better off (disciplined enough to buy and insure a car).
Young Americans can’t afford the car to begin with, and older ones couldn’t afford to live here on the wages paid by these services.
Another option would be for Uber/Lyft/etc.. to simply exit the New York "market" completely leaving ALL their drivers unemployed and a financial burden to the State of New York.
If I were running Uber/Lyft that's exactly what I'd do.
I don't think the democrats in NYC government care. All they want is for money to flow from their donors, and that's not coming from low-wage Uber drivers.
That would leave two classes of people: those with money/wealth and those without. New York would get to a point where the number of people without money/wealth would far outnumber those with. Those with money/wealth would see their taxes continually rise, eventually driving them out of the state (shrinking tax base.)
New York would go bankrupt after amassing an insurmountable debt which it would be unable to repay and that's when the fun really starts.
Think it can't happen?
It's happening right now in Illinois. I live here, I see it every day. All it'll take here is a few more big companies to leave the state to tip things permanently in the wrong direction and it's game over here.
I use Uber or Lyft quite often (but not in NYC). I'd say that about 20% are foreigners/immigrants... certainly larger than the population at large, but there's no shortage of Americans (mostly college kids or older folks) who are doing the driving. It's not a terrible way to make extra disposable cash. Sit in your own car as much or as little as you want, only take the trips that you want, only work when you want, no boss to answer to, and make a decent "hourly wage" overall... listen to your radio, or enjoy light polite conversation with strangers for 10-20 min at a time... get paid faster than any "normal" job...
Most drivers enjoy the opportunity very much.
The demographic difference is probably geographic; you probably have more Americans around you.
I understand the appeal, but in the end they don’t make much money (factoring in time, wear & tear, insurance, and gas). It was funny when libs complained women were making less than men in these services; it is the purest “you work, you earn” environment (and indicated what may cause disparities in the larger workforce).
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