Interpreting Employment Data As The Gig Economy Grows

Interpreting Employment Data as the Gig Economy Grows and researching online

After the reading the Issues & Applications in your etext: Interpreting Employment Data as the Gig Economy Grows and researching online how Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment insurance are more specifically funded, please answer the following questions: a. Why might the U.S. government, which funds Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment insurance programs by taxing wages, desire to find a way to reduce self-employment and inhibit the growth of the gig economy? b. Do you see the growth of the gig economy as a positive or negative trend in the economy? Explain.

The government might desire to reduce self-employment and inhibit the gig economy due to its impact on full-time employees.

The gig economy can make it harder for employees to develop fully in their careers when there are temporary employees that are cheaper and more flexible. This can disrupt traditional work settings like stability and security. The gig economy can also negatively affect building long-term relationships due to lack of familiarity and trust. I personally am not for or against the growth of the gig economy. In our generation, I see the growth in independent individual companies and entrepreneurs and the idea of flexibility makes sense.

I also understand the need for stability and security with full-time employment opportunities. Manuel Garza

Question A: The government wants to have a gig economy because the employee pays the taxes at whatever the rate is while the self-employed person pays the taxes and can still deduct that tax rate in the itemization section.

Question B: I see the gig economy as both, and it depends on the worker and if they want to assume the liability. A self-employed person assumes all the liabilities including the taxes where a gig worker doesn't because they are employed by a company. I don't know where it's at now but when I was growing up, there was a surge of people doing the self-employed jobs because it gave more freedom and allowed them to do as they pleased.

You can turn down work or take work as it fits your schedule. So I would say the gig is a safe bet but not negative or positive.

References

• Miller, R. L. (2018). Economics today (19th ed.). Pearson Education.
• United States Social Security Administration. (2022). How Social Security Is Funded. https://www.ssa.gov/
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2023). Medicare Funding & Expenditures. https://www.cms.gov/
• U.S. Department of Labor. (2021). The Dynamics of the Gig Economy. https://www.dol.gov/
• Katz, L. F., & Krueger, A. B. (2019). The Rise and Nature of Alternative Work Arrangements in the United States, 1995-2015. ILR Review, 72(2), 382–416.
• De Stefano, V. (2016). The Rise of the “Gig Economy”: Protecting Workers Despite Legal Challenges. International Labour Review, 155(4), 547–569.
• Friedman, M. (1962). Capitalism and Freedom. University of Chicago Press.
• Berg, J. (2016). Income Security in the On-Demand Economy: Findings and Policy Lessons from a Survey of Crowdworkers. Comparative Labor Law & Policy Journal, 37(3), 543–576.
• Jolls, C., & Sunstein, C. R. (2020). Cheap Value and Fairness in Automated Markets. The Journal of Consumer Policy, 43, 191–209.
• Rogerson, R. (2020). The Rise of the Gig Economy and Its Effect on Employment and Income Distribution. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 34(4), 55–78.