A previous version of this article was published on Medium. Once, it was our birthright to live off the land. Since the invention of property rights, money, and the system of paid work; ‘living off the land’ is no longer possible for most people in
How is this New Economy? For The Young Person’s Issue, NEJ reached out to youth peak bodies Interns Australia and The Foundation for Young Australians to get their visions for the new economy. The following contribution from The Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) addresses the
How is this New Economy? For The Young Person’s Issue, NEJ reached out to youth peak bodies Interns Australia and Foundation for Young Australians to get their visions for the new economy. The following contribution from Interns Australia addresses the issue of unpaid internships. Unpaid
The ‘gig economy’ describes a recently developed industry of ‘on demand’ workers engaged to complete work through smartphone apps. Download an app, select a service or product, and it’s at your door. The work and services provided vary, and include the delivery of food and
The gig economy has grown significantly over the past 5 years, in Australia and around the world. The OECD has estimated that on-line platforms for information, goods and services dominate the top 15 of the world’s largest internet based companies; and a European study suggests
Workers in the ‘gig economy’ might be delivering your pizza, programming the app that allows the transaction, or own the platform and 15% of each transaction. Like the internet itself, the gig economy is proof that equality of opportunity has no relationship to equity or equality of outcome.
It is easier than ever to own one’s own business – Jeff Bezos does, he owns Amazon. Valued at $156 billion he’s the world’s richest. The median salary of an Amazon employee is $AUS 39000. The bike riders that deliver food get paid as little as $6.70 per hour. In many ways the gig economy represents uber-casualisation and income polarisation of the workforce.
A new UK report, commissioned by Power to Change, predicts that by the end of the next decade, community businesses will have proven that there’s a radically more inclusive, democratic way to run local economies – owning assets, sharing power, and putting people first. As