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Rubio’s Old Ideas for New Gig Economy

October 8, 2015

By Paula Dwyer

Marco Rubio gave a nice speech on Tuesday about how much he loves Uber, Airbnb and the rest of the sharing economy -- and how much he wants to free it from government shackles.

Politically speaking, it was a demographic pitch: Millennials (ages 18 to 35) make up about a third of the electorate, and their livelihoods depend disproportionately on the gig economy. They could swing the 2016 outcome in Florida, Ohio and other swingy states. At age 44, Rubio is the youngest person in the race, and he casts himself as the tech-friendly candidate of the future. There's even a chapter in his book, "American Dreams," called "Making America Safe for Uber."

Rubio's pitch avoids the usual menu of millennial-motivating social issues -- same-sex marriage, climate change, inequality and criminal-justice and immigration overhauls. Instead, he stresses themes like the mistrust of government, big business, the financial system and politicians.

But when it comes to national policies for beefing up the sharing economy, these ideas aren't especially relevant. For one thing, presidents don't have much to say about them. Most battles that companies like Uber and Airbnb are fighting are on a local and state level, or in court.

Read the full article at Bloomberg View: Rubio's Old Ideas for New Gig Economy

Issue Categories : Marco Rubio, Regulations