Posts by Alfie
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Hard News: This. Is. Crazy., in reply to Bart Janssen,
At what point did we allow this contempt for the social welfare state become so ingrained that we can do this to our own citizens?
It started way back in November 2008.
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Access: The Universal Basic Income and…, in reply to Peter Davis,
Could we have some examples of where a UBI has been tried in a “developed” country like ours? I cannot think of a single one, and I do not know of any mainstream social policy people supporting a UBI (not that this is the only criterion).
I mentioned some in an earlier thread including links to further info.
The Canadian (Manitoba) project in particular showed very positive results before an incoming conservative government shot it down in flames. Finland and the Netherlands both have UBI schemes planned and Switzerland is due to have a referendum on the subject next month.
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Access: The Universal Basic Income and…, in reply to Rosemary McDonald,
One of the reasons the old Family Benefit was dumped (I heard, anyway) was that families were cashing up and using that money for a deposit on a home.
That won’t be why FB was dumped. It was termed ‘capitalisation’ and it was an absolutely valid part of the social welfare system at the time. In the early sixties my parents capitalised their family benefit to pay the deposit on their first home. They couldn’t afford to buy in Dunedin so we moved to a new subdivision in Mosgiel where they paid around four thousand pounds for a brand new house.
Of course that system operated in more equitable times under a Labour government. Rampant capitalism with its ethic of unrestrained greed still hadn’t been invented back then.
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From a reader who first enjoyed Hard News in email newsletter form back in the early 90s (?) it's been a pleasure to see your work mature into the nicely moderated blog PAS has become... many thanks Russell. The award is well deserved.
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Speaker: Confessions of an Uber Driver…, in reply to BenWilson,
I'd assume that Uber wouldn't buy or own the driverless vehicles, Ben. They'd attract investors to take care of that side of the business and continue to make even larger profits without the annoying involvement of those pesky wet robots.
It may never happen. But everything I've read about Uber so far suggests that concern for their drivers is not a high priority.
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Hard News: Crowded houses, in reply to andin,
jesuus! 9 million tons of plastic rice… and its getting eaten!
And passing through people on its way to the sea, where it poisons fish en masse. Humans really have been a shit addition to this planet.
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Speaker: Confessions of an Uber Driver…, in reply to BenWilson,
I really don’t see this as anywhere near the problem it is popularly seen to be.
Not yet. But note that line in the BBC story – “Uber’s ultimate goal is a complete end to car ownership – and it’s wasting no time.”
Why pay Uber, when you could just own the car yourself?
The capital cost. Why should people living in cities pay the overheads of vehicle ownership when a cheap, electric, driverless car will take you wherever at a reasonable cost.
It may not happen overnight… but it will happen.
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Speaker: Confessions of an Uber Driver…, in reply to MargaretB,
Uber hasn’t come to our town yet and even if it did it wouldn’t necessarily mean more people taking taxis – it’ll just mean the same number of passengers will get spread thinner over more drivers, so everyone loses.
Keep your eye on the bigger picture. Uber is actively involved in developing driverless cars.
But Uber's big inconvenience is the fact it needs drivers, and so this line of research is about eliminating that final piece of the puzzle to boost profits even more.
Uber isn't alone - rival ride-sharing service Lyft announced a tie-up with Chevrolet to use autonomous driving as well, but it's Uber that seems unstoppable in its goal to be the dominant force in global ground travel.
Can you see where this is heading? Today's Uber drivers are mere pawns in the overall plan.
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There's something you may not have factored into your calculations Ben.
My Dad owned a Dunedin Taxis license back in the 1950s. He made a reasonable living but it was never likely to make him rich. He used to put aside a third of his income into a car fund which covered repairs and, more importantly, the cost of upgrading your vehicle every three years or so. When you're doing a high mileage your vehicle will get tired, and that's a very real cost many Uber drivers may not have considered.
I have a few friends who drive taxis in Queenstown and none of them take home more than the average wage, some of them considerably less. I'm not sure that taxi drivers ever made a lot of money, but Uber's plan to fill the streets with cheap, unlicensed drivers can only spread the potential income and guarantee that nobody makes a living.
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Excellent piece in the Press by Vicki Anderson on attending WINZ humiliation meetings.
Joining the queue at Work and Income: Where no one seems happy.