The Gig con, which sells people on a more flexible job without fixed hours. This sounds enticing to workers fed up with their 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. jobs. Also, to people without jobs, and to people who have part-time jobs, and need more money. Gig jobs fill in many needs, but the rub is that these jobs or most of these jobs don’t pay into Social Security or Social Disability Insurance so when someone hits retirement age there is nothing to fall back on.
Most have been told that Social Security will not have money for them because Social Security will be broke. This is a lie and a con job on the workers. Social Security will be OK if the federal government will keep its hands off the money we paid into it. They think it is their piggy bank.
Then what if you get sick or injured on the Gig job, there is no healthcare. We know that we are running out of jobs here and worldwide. This is why we need the universal basic income and unions for all. At this time, the federal government estimates up to 50 million workers are Gig workers who are classified as non-permanent employees or freelancers as contingent workers.
Pay rates have not kept up with rising rents, food costs, inflation, and education costs. This is why most Gig workers just to survive have to string together two or three Gig jobs and, again, no pensions and no healthcare while the rich get richer.
What will happen to the 20 million to 50 million people when they are too old or too sick to work? Now is the time for UBI and unions to fix this before our country implodes and with us the world will follow. One other thing is that most of the Gig jobs pay cash or what some call under the table, which pays no taxes to the state or federal governments and no Social Security or Social Disability Insurance.
This deprives the government of money to fund the safety net for the old, sick, and young who needs assistance. This needs to be fixed. The train has left the station and is picking up speed as this is written.
I hope that I am wrong, but what I see at this time is our unions are going to be in the fight of their existence. This is the most perilous time of our life. The life we had is threatened like never before. Unions are the largest organized group of people who can save our country if things keep going the way they are heading at this time. We need to all stand together for power, but we each must prepare and plan to take care of ourselves and our families. We can fight the big fight and not be distracted by worry about things that can and should already be taken care of. For instance, stashing at least one month’s pay and at least a month or even a year’s worth of food, whether the food is staples (pasta, rice, canned goods) and meat or chicken in the freezer. Keep your vehicles' tanks full and if possible a gas can full. It’s in your best interest to also save money for house or rent payments plus extra. This is not new thinking for us old trade workers who had to prepare when...
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