You might not have thought that a taxi service could reach the center stage in our great political debates. And yet Uber has become a surprisingly important political issue in the United States. Why?
Well, Uber actually brings two issues to the taxi market. One is the smartphone revolution: Now you can tap a screen to get a ride, rather than stand out in the rain waving your arms and cursing the guy who darts out half a block from you and snags the cab that you were trying to hail.
The other issue is that Uber’s workers are supposedly free contractors, not employees, which exempts the company from most of the regulations designed to protect employee interests.
And it’s this second aspect that has made the politics surrounding the service so divisive.
On one side, Republicans are eager to dismantle as many worker protections as they can. So from their point of view, Uber’s not-our-problem approach to its drivers would be desirable independent of the technology.
On the other side, we’ve recently seen the emergence of the so-called “new liberal consensus,” which argues (based on a lot of evidence) that wages are much less rigidly determined by supply and demand than previously thought, and that public policy can, and should, nudge employers into paying more. If you’re a lawmaker, and that’s your policy plan, you really don’t want to see employers undermine it by declaring that they aren’t really employers.
It’s surely possible to separate these two issues – to promote the use of new technologies without prejudicing the interests of workers. But progressives need to work on doing that, and not let themselves get painted as enemies of innovation.
Wall Street Now Hates Democrats
Over at Vox, Jonathan Allen recently noted that Hillary Clinton, sometimes derided on the left for doing Wall Street’s bidding, is actually getting a lot less money from Wall Street than people think.
In his article, Mr. Allen notes that during her husband’s administration, Mrs. Clinton was known for her relative antipathy toward financial types, which may be part of the story. But it’s also important to put this in the context of finance’s hard turn against Democrats in general. In 2004, facing a presidential election whose outcome was uncertain, contributors in the finance and insurance industries split their donations almost equally between the parties.
But in 2012 they gave well over twice as much to Republicans as to Democrats.
The reason, of course, is financial reform. Anyone who says that those reforms have done nothing and that there’s no difference between the political parties should follow the money, which thinks that there is a very big difference indeed.
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
We urgently need your help to prepare. As you know, our December fundraiser is our most important of the year and will determine the scale of work we’ll be able to do in 2025. We’ve set two goals: to raise $150,000 in one-time donations and to add 1,500 new monthly donors by midnight on December 31.
Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
If you have the means to make a substantial gift, please dig deep during this critical time!
With gratitude and resolve,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy