Summer is normally a time when Americans look forward to taking a vacation. In the pandemic summer of 2020, however, many of us probably would like nothing better than to get back to work. Since the coronavirus reached our shores, tens of millions of Americans have been laid off or furloughed. Many others have had…
Publications
The “gig economy” has unlocked a wave of economic value in recent years. The direct impact of independent workers on the economy is almost $1 trillion, or 5% of GDP. Now, this extremely flexible segment of the economy is more important than ever in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Surprisingly, even the healthcare industry…
One of the biggest productivity advances in recent years has been the use of platforms to connect buyers and sellers at lower cost. Platforms offer less rigid contractual arrangements, expanded earnings opportunities for workers and access to essential goods and services for underserved communities. Overall, platforms generate win-win economic activity which benefits everyone. The flexibility…
Press
For Americans and much of the world, 2020 has been an annus horribilis. To contain the coronavirus pandemic, nations have been forced to order mass quarantines, freezing economic activity and social life. It likely will take decades to calculate the full human, economic and psychic costs of this still-unfolding global calamity. Few countries have been…
Independent workers face a dilemma where they cannot currently receive benefit payments from companies without risking their independent status. WASHINGTON, D.C. - A new report from the Progressive Policy Institute examines the possibility of creating a way to regulate platforms that would preserve the flexible nature of independent workers and the benefits to our economy…
For many, becoming a small business owner has always been a part of the American Dream and for entrepreneurs launching a successful startup today is, in many ways, the 21st-century version of this ambition. But even if the business gets off the ground, it is becoming more and more challenging for company owners to scale…
Blog
Many of the Democratic presidential candidates are vying to see who can be toughest on the tech sector. But here’s the paradox: New data shows that the tech boom is a major force driving down unemployment, lifting economic growth, and helping voters — precisely the people that the Democratic candidates are trying to reach. The…
Corporate profits are soaring. Yet Americans’ paychecks are inching upward by comparison. It’s no wonder many Americans feel anxious despite an economy that, by the numbers, is booming. This disconnect between shareholders’ prosperity and workers’ precarity has led many on the progressive left to question the very future of capitalism. Some 2020 presidential candidates, such…
Republicans despise federal micromanagement, but that hasn’t kept Rep. Don Young of Alaska from hopping aboard the Washington-Knows-Best Express. He recently introduced a bill mandating that freight trains have a minimum of two crew members on board trains at all times. While Young justifies his bill on safety grounds, the bill also appears to reflect…
