Read Sarah Jaffe in our June 2024 print issue: ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
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Dear reader,
When Uber first came on the scene in the 2010s, it was unprofitable for years, propped up by venture capital funding to grow its market share. Now, Uber is pulling in record profits, enabled by slashing driver wages and price gouging customers.
Much of those price hikes are due to surge pricing, which takes advantage of increased consumer demand to raise prices, betting on the likelihood that customers will be willing to accept the price hike in exchange for the convenience of finding a ride at opportune times. This increased revenue is generally not passed onto the driver.
Apps that traffic in convenience like Uber and Lyft are not naturally profitable, and their staying power depends on raising prices as high as they can get away with while simultaneously making it difficult for consumers to avoid them. Uber's surge pricing model has helped them achieve market dominance and record profits, and businesses in other sectors are beginning to adopt the same questionable business model.
For our June 2024 special issue on pricing, Sarah Jaffe wrote about how rideshare apps made surge pricing a mainstay of the modern consumer economy, hurting customers and workers alike-and how only a movement centered on worker justice can end algorithmic corporate greed. You can read the full story here. [link removed]
READ MORE >> [link removed]
Our June print issue, a collaboration with Groundwork Collaborative, is out now! In this issue, we explore how corporations use novel pricing strategies to grow record profits at the expense of the public, and how these tactics affect your everyday life.
This week and next, we'll be rolling out the issue one story at a time, covering everything from surveillance pricing to junk fees to medical bills and grocery pricing.
You can read the issue online as it comes out here. [link removed]
THE PRICING ISSUE >> [link removed]
Every day, our small but mighty team works hard to bring you the news you need on a shoestring budget. We're a nonprofit newsroom, and we don't have corporate backers or billionaire donors to subsidize our work. To make special projects like this month's issue possible, we rely on the generosity of our readers, who chip in a few dollars at a time to fund our work.
By becoming a member today for just a few dollars a month, not only will you be eligible to receive our print magazine, but you'll also receive member benefits including special events, exclusive member access and video content, and more.
We work hard for your trust, and our members say they're getting their money's worth. Won't you join them? [link removed]
BECOME A MEMBER >> [link removed]
Thanks for being a part of this,
David Dayen
Executive Editor
The American Prospect
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