Same reason tax evasion by corporations should be ended since it not only devalues society but actively feeds on it while undermining the positive potential that a managed free market actually allows ALL players, not just the few that have gotten too big to fail.
Define "exploit". Depending on the definition, you could argue that all economy is about exploiting workers.
Yes. When the basic income comes, it will redefine all the parameters by which we judge the qualities of jobs. But that doesn't mean that such jobs are not exploitative now, according to current standards. Your snarky quotes are unwarranted.
Ah, so you're familiar with Marx?
As long as the self-employed person doesn't pay tax on their insurance (which AFAIK they don't), it is exactly the same thing.
What is relevant is NI ("national insurance"), which pays for a bunch of unemployment and similar benefits: https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-guides/National-insurance...
What is also relevant is driver liability insurance - normally if you take paying passengers it invalidates your insurance, so commercial drivers either need to be insured by their company or pay more for correct insurance.
If the big company is not willing to pay X+Y to the self-employed guy, they won't be willing to spend X+Y on an employee.
The only difference is if the big company can get better rates on the relevant goods than a self-employed guy.
I have 3 personal anecdotes, you can ignore them if you'd like, but I'm a proponent of the sharing economy.
1. I'm from Austin, Texas where prior to Uber it was impossible to get a ride unless you were directly downtown. I've called cab companies and they no-showed, leaving me stranded in the middle of no where. There isn't enough density for public transit and when Uber and Lyft entered the market, it changed our lives. Prior to the existence of these companies, there was rampant drinking and driving. I went to school here, and every party was essentially binge drinking followed by a harrowing 30 minute drive where everyone on the roads at 2am is a drunk driver.
2. My sister is a teacher, single mother, and low income. She uses Uber on the weekends to make extra income and help support her child. For her, the flexibility of being able to drive whenever for a quick buck is key to closing the gap that Texas politics hasn't quite solved. I'm going to preempt the argument and say I agree that UBI may be the solution more generally to workers needing to rely on their employers.
3. My mother is retired and generates ~1000/month in income from social security payments. She did not plan for retirement, has no savings, and has moved in with my sister to help out. Her day job is managing Airbnb rentals in Austin and she rents out a room in their house for extra income (~700/mo). Her quality of life is much higher than it would be without Airbnb, and her ability to schedule, find and vet potential tenants without Airbnb would be pretty much nil.
I recognize these are not the same 'workers' whom are being pathologically disadvantaged by the rules of these platforms - I think they're the ideal users that product people pin on the whiteboard. I come from a low income background and only see positives, had Uber been around when I was in school I wouldn't have worked for $5.15 washing dishes in a rat infested kitchen, done tech support for wireless hotspots in trailer parks or been a valet on 6th street dealing with intoxicated people. I've had about ~20 low skilled, hourly jobs that essentially dominated my life at the time and I had very little mobility or earning power, having the opportunity to leverage my vehicle and time flexibly would've been enormous.
How does an employee having to buy their own healthcare mean I pay more tax?
How does DHL buying healthcare for employees mean I pay less tax?
How do either of those affect my socialised healthcare charges which would remain fixed even if DHL cease trading?
That assumes better jobs would exist if these didn't. This is the Nirvana fallacy.
The sharing economy always was about exploiting workers (and externalizing costs), and this has created an additional cost for society.
For example, DHL’s drivers are "self-employed", as result, in most countries their healthcare is funded by themselves, or by society (instead of the employer), and this means you (and your company) pay more taxes, just so that Uber, DHL, Amazon and co can save money.