Since the Global Financial Crisis, unemployment has dropped to low levels in most of the developed world at least. That’s fantastic. It needs to continue.
One of the important factors in this positive trend seems to be the evolution of work arrangements that enable quick responses to fast-moving markets and consumers. Flexible work creates work! But this gets regulation-lovers worried. They reckon that if work isn’t controlled through government regulation, there’s got to be something wrong. Currently their focus is on the so-called ‘gig’ economy. Apparently, it’s a big ‘problem’ that needs a solution. More...
All News
Regulation-lovers with a ‘solution’ desperately seeking a problem—Gig it!!!
Give unfair contract laws teeth, says competition boss
We’re most pleased to see the head of the Australian Consumer and Competition Council (ACCC), Rod Sims, call for the unfair contract laws to be given ‘teeth’. Good on you, Rod. We back you on this one!
The unfair contract laws for small business passed parliament in late 2015. We called the laws ‘A welcome disruption to the economy.’ The passing of the laws was the end of a seven-year campaign by us battling the big end of town. Here’s the history of our campaign. We nearly didn’t succeed, as the dollar limit on contracts was to be set so low as to neuter the laws. But the Senate came to the rescue and amended the laws. More...
Can an incoming tide be stopped? Some powerful people are trying
Some claim that freelancing, self-employment, whatever you want to call it, is surging in developed economies. For example: More...
Trump’s self-employed revolution
Last week, our Executive Director, Ken Phillips, contemplated some ‘revolutionary’ thoughts around self-employment as part of the summer break ‘think’ process.
Trump
But those thoughts are minor compared with President-elect Donald Trump’s proposals for self-employed people in the USA. According to Forbes magazine and CBSNews, Trump is going to open the tax floodgate for the self-employed, allowing them to access the 15 per cent tax rate he intends to apply to companies. More...
ICA Executive Director ponders the nature of work
Against a backdrop of 'revolutionary' social and political developments in 2016, ICA Executive Director Ken Phillips has posted a new blog which looks at the prospects for the new world of work in the year ahead. Noting the seemingly unstoppable growth of all forms of self-employment, Ken also examines some of the adverse reactions to self-employment and surveys some recent (and quite diverse) academic discussion about the value of 'being your own boss'. You can read Ken's full blog post here. More...
How powerful institutions try to crush entrepreneurship
In a recent news alert we discussed the rise of self-employment in the UK and Canada that is making up most of the new jobs in those countries. We discussed how China is discovering that the self-employed are the ‘happiest’ workers. This is part of the pattern of the ‘gig’ economy: Uber, Airbnb and many others creating a new economy. We call it ‘capitalism of the individual’; self-employment.
This should be a welcome and exciting progression of human economic development. But, around the world, hugely powerful institutions are in the ‘suppression’ game. These institutions are government-funded and pursue their own agendas in a ‘Yes, Minister’ style of control over the political process. More...
A Changing World
There’s probably no more startling evidence of change than the development of the ‘bionic human’. Watch this extraordinary TED presentation about the new bionics creating enhanced human capacity. Alleged disability becomes ability! It’ll have your mind leaping!
Just as will the ticklingly funny discussion (also on TED) between Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin exploring how women’s relationships differ from men’s. As we’re (ICA) interested in small business, it makes us wonder about how women manage small business differently from men. It’s a cultural difference! More...
The banks tried to stop fairness: Good-bye banks
The Australian banks tried hard to stop unfair contract laws for small business people and they nearly succeeded. Fortunately, the banks failed. Now the laws have been proclaimed and come into effect on 12 November 2016.
Here’s the new Act. Here’s what makes a contract clause unfair.
Here’s ACCC information.
The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) is now checking contracts. More...
‘Employment’ security exists as a legal construct, not as an economic or human reality
From time to time, we’ve highlighted the debate occurring in the UK over the rise of the self-employed. Some commentators see this as a bad thing.
In mid-June, the Committee for the Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) released a report on the future of Australia’s workforce. The full report is here. ICA's Executive Director, Ken Phillips, was asked to contribute a chapter on independent contracting. He cited global trends, presenting facts and some opinions. His CEDA chapter is here. More...
Independent contractor status crashing in USA. Or is it?
There’s no question that the status of independent contractors is under massive attack in the USA from regulators, courts and activist lawyers. We’ve been following this for some time.
The giant transport company FedEx has for years been fighting to defend the independent contractor status of its drivers. But, in California, FedEx has now agreed to pay $228 million in compensation. This follows a 2014 Californian court ruling that FedEx ‘misclassified’ its drivers as independent contractors. More...
Recent Posts
- BIG change must happen to ATO says government report
- Australian unions see flying ‘gig’ pigs landing from the UK
- Would you consider the Victorian Premier the most dangerous person in Australia?
- Victorian Covid lockdown (again). The evidence. Victorian Government failures. Prosecution
- ATO abusing its powers – manipulating the law to abuse people
- Holding public officials to account takes time and persistence – Covid and more
- Covid and the oppression of government regulation and regulators
- California Attacks Santa Claus – A Victorian Agenda?
- 800 Deaths – Social media campaign to prosecute Victorian Government
- 800 deaths – The facts are clear. The Vic government must be prosecuted
![]() Be Protected! |
Tags
- 457 visas (2)
- AB5 California (5)
- Abbott government (43)
- ABCC (2)
- ABNs (26)
- ACCC (27)
- ACTU (1)
- advertising (2)
- aged care (1)
- ALP policy (39)
- Andrews government (23)
- Asian economies (6)
- ASIC (14)
- ATO (144)
- Australian Constitution (1)
- Australian politics (301)
- Australian Senate (53)
- autocratic government (9)
- Banking sector (10)
- big business (74)
- branding (2)
- Budget 2015 (2)
- Budget 2020 (1)
- bureaucratic capture (3)
- business names (27)
- business-union ties (43)
- California (4)
- Canada (6)
- Canadian provinces (1)
- Car industry (2)
- Carbon tax (1)
- CFMEU (9)
- China (9)
- Chinese economy (2)
- Coalition policy (76)
- Coate Inquiry (12)
- Collusion (22)
- communication (3)
- competition policy (19)
- computer/IT sector (8)
- Conference (7)
- construction (32)
- construction codes (15)
- contractor status (163)
- Coronavirus (38)
- Coronavirus: Govt Support (15)
- Coronavirus–OHS (15)
- corporate welfare (7)
- corruption (20)
- couriers (18)
- defending our rights (299)
- DINs (1)
- disability services (1)
- disclosure requirements (7)
- dispute resolution (23)
- disruption (11)
- drug abuse (1)
- effects test (4)
- Election 2013 (15)
- Election 2016 (4)
- Election 2019 (19)
- Entrepreneurial Index (1)
- entrepreneurship (148)
- Europe (19)
- fair contracts (85)
- Fair Work Commission (2)
- Fair Work Ombudsman (3)
- Family trusts (1)
- Federal SBC (4)
- finance (9)
- financial advisers (3)
- fixing disputes (2)
- foreign workers (2)
- franchising (21)
- freelancing (58)
- Frontier Centre (1)
- GEEIndex (3)
- Gig economy (25)
- Global economies (27)
- global news (71)
- government power (8)
- govt-business ties (17)
- govt-union ties (11)
- GST (2)
- Heydon Report (4)
- HMRC (5)
- hotel quarantine (4)
- ICAC (1)
- illegal logging laws (2)
- independence (29)
- industrial relations (43)
- infrastructure (1)
- innovation (25)
- 'insecure' work (3)
- insolvency laws (1)
- Inspector-General Taxation (35)
- insurance (1)
- Internet (1)
- Ireland (3)
- IRS (7)
- IT contractors (3)
- Japan (1)
- job creation (14)
- Job security (19)
- JobKeeper (8)
- JobMaker (1)
- JobSeeker (5)
- Just for fun (7)
- Kenya (1)
- Labour hire (4)
- liberty (9)
- Lockdown exit (16)
- management capacity (6)
- Massachusettsd (8)
- mental health (3)
- misclassification laws (16)
- Morrison Government (34)
- national debt (2)
- nationhood (1)
- New South Wales (1)
- New Zealand (1)
- Obamacare (1)
- OHS harmonisation (2)
- owner-drivers (32)
- Pay on Time Pledge (3)
- productivity (11)
- Productivity Commission (3)
- profiles (9)
- Prompt payment (13)
- public service (2)
- racism (2)
- red tape (27)
- research (24)
- Resources (1)
- responsibility (17)
- Reverse factoring (5)
- Richard Boyle (3)
- scams (4)
- self-employment (306)
- shopping centres (9)
- Shorten Opposition (20)
- small business (331)
- small business commisioners (30)
- Small Business Ombudsman (4)
- small business tax tribunal (17)
- South Australia (2)
- stupid legislation (6)
- superannuation (11)
- Tax evasion (8)
- taxation (136)
- taxpayer privacy (2)
- technology (6)
- textile workers (1)
- The rule of law (24)
- tradesmen (4)
- transparency (18)
- truckies (29)
- Turnbull Government (35)
- TWU (19)
- Uber (16)
- unemployment (5)
- union power (67)
- union violence (5)
- United Kingdom (33)
- United States (38)
- US 2020 Election (1)
- US politics (11)
- Victoria (36)
- Victorian council elections (2)
- Victorian election (4)
- Victorian 'roadmap' (10)
- WA Election 2017 (2)
- Western Australia (7)
- white australia (1)
- work flexibility (17)
- work pressure (2)
- work safety (9)
- worker's compensation (2)
- work-life balance (17)
- workplace interaction (4)
- workplace manslaughter legislation (9)
- WorkSafe prosecution (9)
- WorkSafe Victoria (9)
Archive
- March 2021 (1)
- February 2021 (4)
- January 2021 (2)
- December 2020 (6)
- November 2020 (1)
- October 2020 (6)
- September 2020 (7)
- August 2020 (5)
- July 2020 (5)
- June 2020 (1)
- May 2020 (5)
- April 2020 (3)
- March 2020 (5)
- February 2020 (2)
- December 2019 (2)
- November 2019 (2)
- October 2019 (2)
- September 2019 (2)
- August 2019 (5)
- July 2019 (3)
- June 2019 (3)
- May 2019 (5)
- April 2019 (5)
- March 2019 (7)
- February 2019 (4)
- January 2019 (4)
- December 2018 (3)
- November 2018 (6)
- October 2018 (4)
- September 2018 (3)
- August 2018 (5)
- July 2018 (4)
- June 2018 (3)
- May 2018 (3)
- April 2018 (5)
Small Cost, Big Benefits