In this 232nd Episode of the Small Scale Life Podcast, Adam and I are discussing Side Hustles and the Gig Economy. It seems like there is not enough money for the month at times. One way to make resources stretch is through side hustles and the gig economy.
Why is the Gig Economy a Thing?
If you look at the the data and drill down to historical wages, you will see that American wages have been stagnant since 1970. Using data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, you can see the following:
“A startling fact is that average real wages have grown by only 0.7 percent over the half century beginning in February 1973. In February 2022 dollars, wages have grown over this period by $0.18. There is no question that an $0.18 increase over a half century is correctly interpreted as stagnant.” Source: American Enterprise Institute
While wages are stagnant, wew are also dealing with spiraling prices on literally everything: housing, transportation, food, clothing, communication, entertainment, and medical care. It has not been easy to make dollars stretch at the end of the month. Lately it seems that there is more month than dollars, and we have to get very creative to make things stretch.
While my friend Adam is correct that people have held second jobs in each generation, it seems like a lot of folks are resorting to second jobs in the gig economy to make ends meet or focus extra funds on nagging l0ng term credit card, automobile or housing debt. Whatever the reason, people are using the gig economy to survice, and some are using the gig economy to thrive.
What is the Gig Economy?
The Internal Revenue Service defines the Gig Economy as the following:
“The gig economy—also called sharing economy or access economy—is activity where people earn income providing on-demand work, services or goods. Often, it’s through a digital platform like an app or website.” Source: Internal Revenue Service
In layman’s terms, it is a labor market characterized by the prevalence of short-term contracts or freelance work as opposed to permanent jobs. Yes, that means employees are typically third party freelancers or independent contractors. These free lancers and/or independent contractors do not get benefits such as medical insurance, sick leave, time off or retirement benefits. Instead, they are typically 1099 “employees,” and income is reported and taxes are paid to the Internal Revenue Service from the freelancer and/or independent contractor. The gig economy holding company (Lyft, Ubrer, Uber Eats, etc) does not withold and pay taxes for you like a regular full time or part time position. See the Internal Revenue Service for more information about the tax ramifications of the gig economy.
The Internal Revenue Service also has a list of potential gig economy work and digital platforms that fall under the gig economy. See their site for more information on those jobs and digital platforms.
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In Closing….
From the North to the South
From the East to the West and
Everywhere in between.
May the gods, spirits and folk
Be blessed at this place.
May we heal the land and
Protect the soil, animals and plants.
May we live in strength and love.
Leading the Way
As we learn, do grow and
Be a little better everyday!
This is Tom from the Small Scale Life Podcast. Have a great week! We’ll be back soon with another show. In the meantime, stay safe and take care everybody!
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Special Thanks
For Small Scale Life Podcasts, I would like to thank Sean at Osi and the Jupiter for the intro song "Harvest." Sean wrote this specifically for us, and I really enjoy all of his work. You can find more Osi and the Jupiter at their Bandcamp site: https://osifolk.bandcamp.com/
I would also like to thank Austin Quinn at Vlog Vibes for the intro and outro music. For more information abut Austin and Vlog Vibes, please see the Vlog Vibes YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY80LeqtJf-YBzJy2TWKpDw