"Lose this workforce structure—either by a wave of class-action lawsuits, intervention by regulators, or through the collective action of disgruntled workers—and you lose the gig economy."
Hang on, lemme get my tiny violin to properly eulogize the loss of an opportunity for VCs to get rich on the backs of low-wage workers. Won't you please think of the billionaires?
Hard to know whether the bulk of the surplus is being captured by consumer or producers in this situation (from your tone I would assume that you prefer the consumers would capture it?) without knowing the elasticities of the forces at play-- but don't rule either one out just yet.
I'm sorry for the fancy words. I truly don't know what other words to use to express the concepts here. It really is a fact that there is something called elasticity, and it has influence over whose welfare is increased after a price change. And I feel like that might just matter here.
Hang on, lemme get my tiny violin to properly eulogize the loss of an opportunity for VCs to get rich on the backs of low-wage workers. Won't you please think of the billionaires?