Make the Economy Work for Freelancers, Too (#askingforafriend) | Optimist Economy

Thirty million Americans, more or less, work for themselves. They freelance, do gig work, have solo LLCs, or — as a certain economist says — participate in “ non-employee employment.” The economics of their situation is harder than it needs to be. Making self-employment more viable is good for everyone in the labor market, because when workers have options, they also have more power. Plus: Kathryn Anne Edwards testified before the House Ways and Means Committee, and a congressman implied she wasn't a real American. She has thoughts. --- ✨Support us by donating at https://optimisteconomy.com ✨ … Chapters 0:00 — Start 0:47 — Announcements 1:21 — Retcon: Bad banks and good overtime 4:33 — Retcon: Testifying before Congress (again) 10:19 — Why even go testify to Congress? 11:57 — U.S. tax-cut era is worse than we thought 14:48 — Expenditures: the tax system's 271 coupons 17:07 — The optimist bent 18:17 — Big Pilcrow: Freelancers & non-employer businesses 26:53 — Benefits the self-employed lose, or pay more for 29:28 — Who is a "small business?" 31:35 — How we became "non-employer businesses," a.k.a. started working for ourselves. 35:45 — What do we really know about the self-employed? 37:03 — Do people choose self-employment, or resort to it? 42:52 — Can we have both more self-employment and companies that don't abuse a system of contract workers? 44:42 — Executive orders 47:20 — Spiritual sponsors 49:01 — Credits Send your economic questions or executive orders to [email protected] Follow Optimist Economy: TikTok |   / optimist_economy   Substack | https://optimisteconomy.substack.com/ Instagram |   / optimist_economy   Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/op-econ-pod Consume leisure in an O.E. hat or shirt: https://merch.ambientinks.com/collect... ABOUT OPTIMIST ECONOMY: Economist Kathryn Anne Edwards and editor Robin Rauzi co-host this brand new podcast about how the U.S. economy can be better, and how the country can get there, one problem and solution at a time. Kathryn is a PhD economist, columnist, and consultant who studies labor markets, public policy, and inequality. She’s better known as keds_economist on TikTok and other social media. Robin is a former newspaper opinion editor, not an economist, and not much on the socials. It’s funnier than you think, we promise. New Optimist Economy episodes available every Tuesday, wherever you get your podcasts.