We can't keep expecting "employers" to solve problems like this because fewer and fewer people will have employers. Coase's theory of the firm explains employment as a way to reduce transaction costs—it's hard to find the right person for each task and negotiate a deal with them each time, so just pay people to obey orders and use them to get things done instead.
The technology we build is driving transaction costs closer and closer to zero. Fewer tasks will need firms to coordinate them—they'll be coordinated by the market instead. More people will sell their work directly to the people who want it.
The basic income approach can solve the living wage problem without relying on the employment relationship. Any energy we spend trying to get Uber to solve the problem will be wasted when we build ride hailing marketplaces that don't require an Uber to connect the rider and the driver.
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We can't keep expecting "employers" to solve problems like this because fewer and fewer people will have employers. Coase's theory of the firm explains employment as a way to reduce transaction costs—it's hard to find the right person for each task and negotiate a deal with them each time, so just pay people to obey orders and use them to get things done instead.
The technology we build is driving transaction costs closer and closer to zero. Fewer tasks will need firms to coordinate them—they'll be coordinated by the market instead. More people will sell their work directly to the people who want it.
The basic income approach can solve the living wage problem without relying on the employment relationship. Any energy we spend trying to get Uber to solve the problem will be wasted when we build ride hailing marketplaces that don't require an Uber to connect the rider and the driver.