Re:Americans Own Less Stuff, and That’s Reason to Be Nervous
by lallysingh on Tuesday August 14, 2018 @02:36PM
(#17760637)
They're brokers.
Re:Americans Own Less Stuff, and That’s Reason to Be Nervous
by qubex on Tuesday August 14, 2018 @03:40PM
(#17761177)
Market-makers, even.
Re:Americans Own Less Stuff, and That’s Reason to Be Nervous
by pathseeker on Tuesday August 14, 2018 @04:47PM
(#17761748)
A market maker provides demand and supply to both sides to smooth out pricing. Airbnb does not do that, they are just the market. An argument could be made that Uber does do that by paying wages to the driver independent of what it charges the rider.
Re:Americans Own Less Stuff, and That’s Reason to Be Nervous
by baxtr on Tuesday August 14, 2018 @02:33PM
(#17760617)
It’s somehow funny to think about these companies as utilities or infrastructure, which is traditionally created and maintained by the state. I’m not sure if that’s the better scenario
Re:Americans Own Less Stuff, and That’s Reason to Be Nervous
by _bxg1 on Tuesday August 14, 2018 @02:37PM
(#17760645)
Created and maintained by the state, or simply regulated by the state. One of the two is absolutely appropriate for at least the most important of the companies we're talking about, but we currently have neither.
I would argue that you're still renting from Uber and AirBnB, who are just outsourcing their labor and properties to others. Companies like this - I'm looking at you, Facebook - like to claim that they're only impartial platforms, but the reality is that they gain an enormous amount of power over both sides; stealthily, because they hide behind that image.