Here’s what “sharing economy” means: People want to offer goods and services outside of the scope of regulation, let caveat emptor reign supreme. This is not going to be a popular post.
Want to rent out a room in your house without any of the restrictions placed on hotels while dodging the taxes these legitimately run businesses have to pay? Claim “sharing economy”. Want to hire out you car without having to be a licensed taxi? Yep, scream “sharing economy”.
Sounds like pure free market huh? Just great until it is YOUR next door neighbor’s house that becomes a revolving door of strangers in their new illegal, unlicensed bed and breakfast. “Ride sharing” services like the God foresaken Uber are all fun and money until women get raped and assualted. Good times when your credit card gets unexpectedly nailed for what would have been an $18 cab ride during a claimed “surge”. Cashing in on hipster ignorance seems to be Uber’s business model. Bad actor Ashton Kutcher, with his passion for hipsters, pumped money in so he can take from his fan base during a “surge”.
Consumer safegaurds matter with regards to both physical and financial safety. The desperately sought lack of regulation in the “sharing economy” provides neither and once these alernatives have to play by the same rules as legitimate player in the industry they will learn WHY no one did it before. In the past people were smart enought understand they would not make money if they had to play by the rules. We now have a generation of hipster trickies who think the rules don’t apply to them. Please, let’s hear the word “entitled” used out of context some more. Meanwhile let these little ego trips manifest while defying authority for profit. Then lay down the hammer and bankrupt their grandchildren who haven’t even been born yet. Portland and New Delhi and poised to start arresting Uber drivers and inpounding their cars. PROCEED.