IMHO, the widespread use of "independent contractors" in the legal form and the extra-legal "off the books" is no more a natural market place reaction to an irrational and unsustainable nanny state than smuggling tea, moving beyond the Applachians, refusing to pay stamp tax (or even tar and feather the tax collectors) by the Founding Fathers about two hundred years ago. The inevitable result of union-negotiated above-market value wage is poverty near or in retirement when the pension fund or the company carrying the pention fund go belly up and the worker in his/her advanced age can do nothing about finding a new career with a pay that is fully supported by the market place.
We could go off track and have a political debate on what is a "fair wage," a rather politically loaded topic not quite suitable for this board. Suffice to say that, we at least agree that the official payroll jobs data is systematicly under-counting the real job creation when as a consequence of the red tapes surrounding de jour payroll employment, independent contractor and its extra legal cousin "off the books" have become a growing part of real market recognized labor relationship.
BTW, I applaud the entrepreneur who pushes a vending cart through East Los Angeles or selling orages by the freeway ramps. He is creating real value for the consumers, and probably putting his children through high school and college through honest labor; beats the heck out of being in a union job making cars that nobody wants to buy, ripping off consumers and taxpayers at the same time. My only wish is that the local tax and law athority can recognize the real market value he is creating and avoid using some red tape rules in the books to squeeze him for protection money.
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