News and Views from Political Author Steven Hill
By Steven Hill, Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, February 10, 2016
For decades following the New Deal, most workers had a single employer who provided their safety net. But now tens of millions of workers are working in a high-tech economy for multiple businesses, either as contractors, freelancers, temps, or regularly employed part-timers.…
By Steven Hill, Observer, February 9, 2016
The liability and regulatory issues involved in letting a 3000 pound death machine steer itself with no human at the controls remain huge
Elon Musk’s Tesla recently became the latest big shot company to enter the self-driving car sweepstakes. Mr. Musk recently announced the hiring of software architecture veteran Jim Keller, who previously had played key roles at Apple and AMD, to lead its Autopilot Engineering team.…
By Steven Hill, Tagesspiegel, February 5, 2016
German version, Gute Jobs – Durch Das Internet Bedroht
What is the future of work, and the future of jobs? For the last several decades, the workers of Germany, the US and Europe have been the most productive and wealthiest in the world.…
By Steven Hill, C-SPAN, January 2016
Steven Hill talks with New York Times columnist Eduardo Porter about his book Raw Deal: How the “Uber Economy” and Runaway Capitalism Are Screwing American Workers, in which he examines the shift in the U.S. workforce with the rise of companies such as Uber and Airbnb and the impact of automation, robots and artificial intelligence on the labor market.…
By Steven Hill, World Post/Huffington Post, January 21, 2016
Fifty-one years ago, Bob Dylan’s song “Maggie’s Farm,” a brilliant satire that compared the job prospects of that generation’s youth to that of working on a dystopian plantation, was released on Dylan’s album “Bringing It All Back Home.” The owners, Maggie, her ma, pa and brother — a real close-knit unit, like a small “sharing economy” startup — were quite eager to put you to work, but they were a bit stingy on the compensation side for your menial, TaskRabbit-type work.…
By Steven Hill, Salon, January 16, 2016
Did Lyft just admit it’s a taxi company after all? Ridesharing companies pretend to be tech firms. They’re not.
Recently Lyft and General Motors made a grand announcement, with all the hoopla meant to convey that this announcement is a really big deal: ta-daaaa, a joint partnership in which Lyft will develop self-driving cars with GM.…
By Steven Hill, Washington Monthly, January/February 2016
The safety net for American workers and their families, which in the post-World War II era has been a cornerstone of the middle class, is under assault. Though the economy is growing, for most Americans it feels more like a recession than a boom.…
By Steven Hill, Observer, December 15, 2015
A leading Democrat was telling fellow Democrats to reject union and collective bargaining rights for Uber drivers
It was another Battle in Seattle, and this time the good guys won. Like so many previous battles, the theater of conflict was over the conditions and terms of economic justice.…
By Steven Hill, Town Hall, December 7, 2015
Video of Steven Hill’s talk at Town Hall in Seattle based on his book Raw Deal: How the ‘Uber Economy’ and Runaway Capitalism Are Screwing American Workers. The author provides a sharp critique of the direction of both the traditional economy and its increasingly close marriage with the troubling sharing/gig economy.…
By Steven Hill, Seattle Times, December 5, 2015
The U.S. workforce, which has been one of the most productive and wealthiest in the world, is undergoing an alarming transformation. A significant factor in the decline of the quality of jobs has been employers’ increasing reliance on “non-regular” employees — a growing army of contractors, freelancers, temps and part-timers.…
By Steven Hill, Salon, December 3, 2015
Hotel taxes and zoning laws shouldn’t be disrupted. If Airbnb stopped releasing selective data, they wouldn’t be
A new article in the New York Times blares the headline that many have been waiting for: “Airbnb Releases Trove of New York City Home-Sharing Data.”…
Graduate Center at CUNY, November 19, 2015
Steven Hill, author of Raw Deal: How the “Uber Economy” and Runaway Capitalism Are Screwing American Workers, joins New York Times columnist Eduardo Porter for a timely discussion. Introduced by Janet Gornick, director of the Luxembourg Income Study Center.…
KQED Forum with Michael Krasny, November 19, 2015
In his new book “Raw Deal”, author Steven Hill takes on Airbnb, as well as Uber, Lyft and TaskRabbit, arguing for greater regulations on their operations and safety-net protections for workers. Listen to the interview on NPR-affiliate KQED in San Francisco.…
Wall Street Journal, November 3, 2015
By Josh Zumbrun
With the flick of fingers across a phone, people can now summon a driver, rent an apartment for the night or hire a handyman. The companies that make this possible–behind, say, the ride-hailing app Uber or the short-term rental app Airbnb–are some of the most valuable startups in the U.S.…
By Steven Hill, Observer, November 2, 2015
Uber may not be as invincible as it seems.
The behemoth ride-sharing service Uber has jolted city after city like a mighty earthquake. It has gained a momentum that seems almost unstoppable. Some say it portends the future of the U.S. economy. At the least, taxi companies and their antiquated medallion system are being crushed.…
By Steven Hill, Salon, October 31, 2015
The “sharing” economy sounds groovy: politically neutral, anti-consumerist. Wait until it comes for your job
A significant factor in the decline of the quality of jobs in the United States has been employers’ increasing reliance on “non-regular” employees — a growing army of freelancers, temps, contractors, part-timers, day laborers, micro-entrepreneurs, gig-preneurs, solo-preneurs, contingent labor, perma-lancers and perma-temps.…
By Steven Hill, Medium, November 3, 2015
As San Franciscans contemplate Proposition F, a measure that would crack down on Airbnb rentals, I would like to address the “regular people” hosts who are trying to use Airbnb to make ends meet. Airbnb likes to portray “regular people” hosts as the face of its company.…
By Steven Hill, San Francisco Examiner, November 1, 2015
Airbnb, the giant app-based hotel service, has disrupted housing markets and people’s lives in city after city. In response, many cities are cracking down, and that’s really a shame because Airbnb began as a good idea — it empowered “regular people” hosts, allowing them to earn a few extra dollars by renting out a spare room or couch to tourists.…
By Steven Hill, American Prospect, November 1, 2015/Fall Issue
How the popular matching company facilitates landlord conversion of entire rental buildings to de facto hotels.
“Belonging is the idea that defines Airbnb,” says its young, 34-year-old billionaire CEO and co-founder Brian Chesky. “Really, we’re about home. You see, a house is just a space, but a home is where you belong.…
By Steven Hill, Business Insider, October 30, 2015
Airbnb, the $25 billion global-hospitality behemoth, may have met its match. And right in its hometown of San Francisco.
On November 3, the voters of San Francisco will vote on Proposition F, the citizens initiative that, if passed, will crack down on Airbnb’s business.…
Brian Lehrer show, NPR in NYC, October 30, 2015
Steven Hill, political journalist and author of Raw Deal: How the “Uber Economy” and Naked Capitalism Are Screwing American Workers, appears on the Brian Lehrer show on NPR and argues the share economy is bad for workers.
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By Steven Hill, Huffington Post, October 29, 2015
CNBC held a GOP presidential debate that was billed as being focused on the subject of the economy. Instead, we found out that Donald Trump sometimes carries a handgun, that Jeb Bush thinks that fantasy sports betting is like daytrading, that Chris Christie thinks that Social Security is broke (it’s not), and that Ted Cruz wants to go back to the gold standard.…
KPFA/Pacifica, October 27, 2015
What’s under the hood of the “sharing economy?” We talk to Steven Hill about his new takedown on the Ubers and AirBNBs of the world — and how to make the “gig” economy a fair one.…
Kojo Nnamdi Show, WAMU/NPR, October 26, 2015
New America Foundation fellow Steven Hill, who recently authored the book Raw Deal: How the ‘Uber Economy’ and Runaway Capitalism are Screwing American Workers, argues that Airbnb effectively pits local residents against tourists. For example, he saya he’s interviewed tenants who’ve been kicked out of their rental units to be replaced by Airbnb renters.…
The Street, October 24, 2015
Television interview by The Street’s Gregg Greenberg of Raw Deal author Steven Hill.
Wall Street and Silicon Valley may be excited about the emergence of the so-called sharing economy, but freelance workers driving for Uber are getting “screwed over,” says Steven Hill, author of the new book Raw Deal: How the “Uber Economy” and Runaway Capitalism Are Screwing American Workers.…