I know someone that used to work for me. He's been driving uber for around two years (seems like?). He figures that net-net, he makes a little over fifteen dollars per hour. That's not much, when you consider that it's basically his business and he takes all risk ... no benefits and he has to pay 15.3% self-employment tax.

However, shortly after I fired him, he started driving a taxi. Daily vehicle rental (to get the medallion, you rent the vehicle ... the day of taxi companies like the old television show have been long gone). Somalis took over the airport ... so the wait lines were incredible. He told me that he was working about fifteen hours a day, and after fuel costs (rent the vehicle, buy your own gas) he made around eighty dollars per day. So, he thinks uber is pretty good.

Here's the kicker ... I used to pay him twenty-two, plus health insurance and, of course, the requisite half of the SS/Medicare burden He wanted a raise to twenty-five .. and he wasn't worth twenty ... so ... I didn't really fire him, we just couldn't come to a meeting of the minds.

Of course, he shows as "employed" on the national labor stats, just like those that have part-time jobs, working twenty hours a week. Wow .. unemployment is under five percent ... what a smokin' economy.