Some work, certainly, pays well for people who are their own bosses— a business consultant, a solo dentist or lawyer, a plumber or electrician who services our homes.
But consider this statistic from the Department of
Labor. For
independent contractors who do not incorporate themselves—the typical for a
fee-worker, such as a cable installer, in contrast to the lawyer who incorporates
her practice— the
demographic with the highest concentration of this work are people with less
than a high school diploma (9.9 percent).
Who are
these people, and what work do they do?
From my study, here is a (growing) list: service techs for cable installation at your home or business; maids and janitors; security guards; drywall installers, window and door installers; painters and HVAC technicians; warehouse workers, couriers (parcel delivery), school bus drivers, ride share drivers, and many others.
From my study, here is a (growing) list: service techs for cable installation at your home or business; maids and janitors; security guards; drywall installers, window and door installers; painters and HVAC technicians; warehouse workers, couriers (parcel delivery), school bus drivers, ride share drivers, and many others.
“Be your
own boss” is often an illusion. People in these jobs have bosses who don’t pay
employment benefits, avoid employment taxes, and take advantage of the lack of
any bargaining power of uneducated, low-skilled people. This hurts the economy by distorting existing tax burdens. Also, it keeps the uneducated permanently in a state of economic limbo, lurching from one "call" to the next without building skills, acquiring training, and assimilating to a diverse workforce.
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