←back to thread

383 points imartin2k | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source
Show context
fiatjaf ◴[] No.14330452[source]
I don't understand what is wrong with Uber Eats charging whatever price they want to charge. If $4.4 is too low just don't work for them. There are probably people for which this is a good price. If not, it's Uber Eats problem, not yours.
replies(9): >>14330479 #>>14330508 #>>14330552 #>>14330563 #>>14330623 #>>14330949 #>>14331012 #>>14331032 #>>14331385 #
moxious ◴[] No.14330479[source]
It's not black and white. What looks to you like the free choice of people choosing to work for $4.4 may look to others like a forced situation. What I think you're missing is that your assumption that everyone can freely choose and has alternatives is clearly mistaken.
replies(1): >>14330502 #
reustle ◴[] No.14330502[source]
> may look to others like a forced situation. What I think you're missing is that your assumption that everyone can freely choose and has alternatives is clearly mistaken.

Could you please elaborate? I don't exactly follow. Nobody is forcing them to work for Uber. If what you mean is they have bills to pay, etc, it's not like Uber can just magically decide to pay $9/hr, they will likely need to cut most of the jobs at that point anyway.

replies(3): >>14330553 #>>14330618 #>>14330645 #
1. Matt3o12_ ◴[] No.14330618[source]
There are some jobs which need to be filled by humans who have very little skills. These jobs need to (or can) exist (because they cannot be automated, yet). Fortunately, cutting the workforce also means there will be less delivers and thus less revenue, so these people would get hired anyways. So paying the people really comes down to how much to charge the customer. I would think that most customers would not mind a $3 delivery fee (whether this is included in the price or a extra markup does not matter). Assuming the delivery person can deliver to 4 people (which should be possible in cities), they make an extra $12.

The $3 markup only becomes apparent when a competitor is cheaper then the other players, in which case the competitor gets more orders and make more revenue. Now if there was a law, called minimum wage, which forces employers to pay enough to make a living, there would be no extreme price cutting. Still, about the same amount of people would be employed (maybe slightly less, but most people will still order the meal whether it is $20 or $23 assuming there is no cheaper alternative which fits there needs).

If we do not have those protections, we end up in a situation similar to the Industrial Revolution in Europe where people (and their children) work for 12+ hours a day and still starve to death. Those jobs would exist anyways because the demand does not decrease significantly if the wages rise (this is of course not true for every industry) but by having two competitors cutting down each other at the expense of the employee is bad for everybody if you consider the long term consequences.