In which Lyft's Twitter account inadvertently illuminates our dystopian future

The year is 2085. Ordinary Americans are so economically pressed that they must commute some three hours to work as independent contractor chauffeurs for companies that do not provide basic benefits. Not even those easing the driver's burden of staying overnight in cheap boarding houses before traveling back to their homelands with what profits they manage to muster. The companies, meanwhile, consider this "very cool!"

Haha, no wait — that's 2016. That's now! Our dystopian future has arrived, America.  

This real-life parable begins with Cyrus Farivar, aneditor at Ars Technica, prolific Twitter user and Lyft passenger. While on a Lyft ride Friday, Farivar tweeted that his current driver commutes from Fresno to the Bay Area, a trip that takes about three hours by car, ostensibly to drive in a place with more potential passengers. This particular time, Fariver tweeted, his driver was even staying overnight in a hostel — which, as any backpacker knows, isn't exactly some cushy corporate accommodation.  Read more...