Free Republic

The 2016 presidential election will determine the fate of the sharing economy. Donald Trump has yet to voice his opinion, but other candidates have made their positions clear. Hillary Clinton promises a regulatory shake down and GOP candidate Ted Cruz promises to leave it alone. Hillary thinks the sharing economy is “raising hard questions about workplace protections and what a good job will look like in the future.” In her economic policy address, she said she will “crack down” on independent contractors. That would be a big mistake. The independent contractor designation is the backbone of the sharing economy. It...

Whether by economic necessity or by choice, as many as one-third of American workers now find themselves piecing together two, three or more on- demand opportunities to make a living. It's called The Gig Economy, or the Sharing Economy. Yet Washington mostly has remained on the sidelines as the U.S. economy, its workforce and the work place, have undergone perhaps the most dramatic transformation in decades. Senator Warner, a former business executive, is committed to bringing this conversation to Washington, working with his colleagues, stakeholders, and the growing “gig economy” workforce, to put forward practical solutions to keep up with...

If you own a house or car, should you be free to do what you want with it? If your plans for your personal property include making money, then you may find out the hard way that, no, you can't do as you wish. That's the harsh lesson being learned by many Americans as they participate in the new, burgeoning freelance services industries. Consider Raleigh, North Carolina resident Gregg Stebben. He and his wife Jodi are registered as service providers with AirBnB.Com, the new online venture that matches travelers in search of lodging with private homes, extra bedrooms and couches...

Back in the first century a poet named Juvenal surmised that his fellow citizens of Rome would put up with just about anything from their government, as long as they had enough food and entertainment. "Give them bread and circuses, and they'll never revolt" he wrote sarcastically. In the 1920's Fascist Prime Minister Benito Musolini said much the same thing of his fellow citizens in Italy. The people that he governed would tolerate just about anything he wanted to do, Musoli suggested, "as long as the trains run on time." Today Americans seem as tolerant of bad abusive government...