Free Republic

new report shows some 53 million Americans—or 34 percent of the U.S. workforce—are now working as freelancers in some capacity. "This is more than an economic change," asserts the report, a joint effort from the Freelancer's Union and freelance markeplaces oDesk and eLance. It's also "a cultural and social shift" that will "have major impacts on how Americans conceive of and organize their lives, their communities, and their economic power." The first and last time anyone looked at the freelance worker population in the U.S. was 2004, in a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Back then the GAO...

A well-loved Maryland supermarket is being forced to limit the amount of full time workers they hire because of the harsh mandates imposed by Obamacare. Snider’s Superfoods, family owned and operated since 1946, says that they will not be hiring any new baggers or cashiers in order to avoid the 50 worker threshold, which under the new Obamacare stipulations, would require that they provide health insurance if they employ 50 or more full time workers. …

Now that Obamacare has removed healthcare from employment, people can leave their cubicles and pursue part-time labor. With apps like Uber, that labor might happen on a micro-level. Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5 anthem may need a 21st century reboot. In 2013, 75% of the almost 1 million new jobs added to the US economy were part time according to CNBC. Obamacare, a weak recovery, and global unrest are just some of the reasons cited for this phenomenon that contributes to the hot button issues of inequality and poverty. However, one nascent winner has been the rise of crowdsourced fractional...

House Democrats said Thursday they will try to highlight GOP resistance to a higher minimum wage with a tactical maneuver meant to bring new attention to an issue they consider a political winner. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said her party will push a “discharge petition” when Congress returns from its recess on Feb. 24. If Democrats can persuade roughly two dozen Republicans to sign the petition, it would force GOP leaders to allow a House vote on the wage issue. Most Republican lawmakers oppose a higher minimum wage. They say it prompts employers to cut down on hiring, a...

Anyone following the debates over ObamaCare has been hearing a lot about "job lock" these days. "The Affordable Care Act will enable more than 2 million workers to escape 'job-lock' — the situation where workers remain tied to employers for access to health insurance benefits," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to cite just one example. All this job-lock talk was sparked to defend ObamaCare after the Congressional Budget Office reported the work disincentives it creates will lead to the loss of the equivalent of 2.5 million full-time jobs. But it turns out that the Democrats' claim that millions...

Democrats touted a Congressional Budget Office report that projects more than 2 million workers will opt out of full time work because of the Affordable Care Act's subsidies for unemployed and underemployed persons. “While the Administration's opponents will try to make this look like bad news, the fact is that work is a disutility,” said Press Secretary Jay Carney. “Everyone knows that leisure is man's preferred state. By enabling more people to obtain health insurance at government expense, the Affordable Care Act is liberating millions from the drudgery of full time employment.” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) maintains that...

Democrats are increasingly employing a new tack in the battle over a projected reduction of two million jobs due to Obamacare, saying the decline is actually the result of people not being required to work anymore when they don't want to -- a concept labeled "job lock.""Yesterday, the CBO projected that by 2021 the Affordable Care Act will enable more than 2 million workers to escape 'job-lock' – the situation where workers remain tied to employers for access to health insurance benefits," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) office said in a news release.The release continued: "In addition to being...