There’s little young people agree with each other about more than the on-demand economy. Want a night out without the hassles of looking for parking and ensuring everyone gets home safe? There’s an app for that. Need to find a hairstylist for your summer wedding in another city? There’s an app for that too.
These new apps, such as the ride-sharing platform Uber and the odd-job finder TaskRabbit, use technology to connect consumers to those who can provide services for a better price and at greater convenience than traditional options. Millennials are the biggest consumers in this new economy, with six out of ten of us saying we rely on apps like Airbnb, Home Away, Uber and Lyft when traveling.
Yet, despite his popularity among Millennials, Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders has “serious problems” with on-demand economy companies like Uber, because they are “unregulated” — code for not under the thumb of outdated government regulations. Similarly, Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been vocal about “cracking down” on what she refers to as the “gig economy.”
Along with makers in city halls and statehouses across the country, efforts to eliminate the on-demand economy would yank the rug from under the feet of many Millennials who earn a living or supplement their income with on-demand jobs.
While Mrs. Clinton has said that companies like Uber don’t provide a “good job” for the future, many young people disagree. According to Generation Opportunity’s March jobs report, 1.7 million 18- to 29-year-olds have given up looking for work and 12.7 percent are unemployed or forced to work part-time jobs. It’s not up to the political elite to write off opportunities that can earn a young person a living to pay off student loans or even a mortgage.
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12.23.2024