"Sharing" with the 1%

There is a pretty big divide in the reaction of people to the "sharing" economy.  The principal proponent of the new economic model is Uber.  By hooking up drivers with time to spare and people needing rides it has revolutionized the stale taxi and livery service model.   Although the taxi industry could be expected to vigorously oppose the upstart, many other people are giving Uber and other "sharing" apps the hairy eyeball.   By defining their drivers as contractors, Uber doesn't have to pay benefits, make sure of safety and insurance or meet any of the regulations other drivers for hire must abide by.  The booster of this new economy, which owes much to the internet and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs resembles the dawn of industrialization in that workers have virtually no rights and benefits and much of their labor accrues to the owner of the app.  The labor movement evolved to help workers in the auto and steel industries get a fair return for their labor.  Now, you hear Uber drivers extol the virtues of working several jobs in order to meet their expenses.  It would seem they have gone down the proverbial rabbit hole and are rejoicing in what a previous generation would have considered indentured servitude.  They are not "sharing" in any meaningful sense.  They are selling their labor at a discount rate and making a small minority very rich.  It sounds like the gilded age with cell phones and computers.