Uber basically figured out how to be a cab company without having employees and without following laws. No overheads on salaries, employee benefits, taxes, or regulations. This is the "sharing economy", really: a libertarian dream. It appears that this has garnered Uber and Airbnb a lot of goodwill because whenever they're discussed online, they always seem to be portrayed as some champion against the evils of the cab or hotel industries. I personally have never felt as slighted by cabs or hotels as everyone seems to be whenever they are discussed online.
> Uber basically figured out how to be a cab company without having employees
Take a look around and you'll find that basically every company has been trying to do that in America for a long time.
The administration staff at many businesses is all outsourced to staffing agencies.
Hiring almost everywhere is outsourced to recruiting agencies.
I know a number of multi-billion dollar corporations pumping hundreds of millions into their tech divisions, where > 95% of the employees are staffed from IT staffing agencies/consultancies.
Nobody employs a landscaper, unless they're a landscaping company.
It appears to be a big secret, but everyone contracts out everything these days. Uber is doing it on the most individual scale, in the most streamlined way I've ever seen. I don't happen to think that's as bad as everyone else does.
Traditional cab companies don't have employees either. I feel like all the critics of Uber must live in a different universe from me, where cab drivers are never mistreated, are paid wonderfully, and consistently provide an on-time and courteous service.
