While the “sharing economy,” as it is popularly known, is rapidly becoming a partisan issue on the federal level, Americans of all political leanings—and especially millennials—love these new services . This is the main finding of a new, first of its kind Pew Research Center poll that asked 4,787 Americans how the sharing economy, or Internet-enabled economy, affects their lives.
“The proliferation of peer-to-peer online interaction has rapidly decreased the costs of finding goods and services, and review systems empower consumers and increase trust.”
These services—everything from eBay, TaskRabbit, and Uber, to Airbnb, Rent the Runway, and GoFundMe—have a common theme, as they are on-demand, shared, and collaborative. The proliferation of peer-to-peer online interaction has rapidly decreased the costs of finding goods and services, and review systems empower consumers and increase trust.
The online-economy service that is receiving the most attention from politicians is unquestionably Uber. While Washington Republicans cannot praise the company enough, their Democratic peers do not share this enthusiasm . Earlier this month, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said Uber is “[fighting] against local rules designed to create a level playing field between themselves and their taxi competitors” and relies on “extremely low wages for drivers.”
The Democratic candidates for president also have dim views of Uber. Bernie Sanders told Bloomberg, “I am not a great fan of Uber—you can quote me on that.” The main reason why he has “serious problems” with Uber is that it is “unregulated.” Hillary Clinton argues that Uber succeeds by “misclassifying” its drivers as independent contractors rather than employees.
On these points, Pew finds that Americans’ views are the polar opposite. A solid 66 percent of people who use ridesharing think that Uber drivers are independent contractors, whereas only 23 percent see them as Uber employees. Outside Capitol Hill, Americans enjoy the flexible, individualized, and mobile work that the online economy embodies.
Americans know that their Uber drivers show up and appears happy to take them where they want to go. Uber and Lyft do not have problems attracting drivers or customers. Drivers are not oppressed, and many enjoy the option of part-time work...
Read the entire piece here at Forbes
This piece originally appeared in Forbes