Chelsea Rustrum

The term "sharing economy" was stolen a few years ago, by firms that aren't sharing anything.

The technology of these platforms is not expensive to build. Meanwhile, these companies have skyrocketing valuations (exceeding even the growth trajectory of Facebook) because they are absorbing value from the people actually creating and providing the value.

Everyone on the Internet is being exploited without noticing.

"Our personal data is not unlike labor -- you don’t lose by giving it away, but if you don’t get anything back you’re not receiving what you deserve. Information ... is inherently valuable."

An economy where workers get fair exchange for the value they produce is possible. Rustrum points out these means:

• Cooperatives. In particular, platform coops
• ESOP, employee stock ownership plans
• Crowd funding
• Blockchain - digital peer-to-peer secure transactions

Raw Deal: How the "Uber Economy" and Runaway Capitalism are Screwing American Workers<br> Steven Hill