The Online Economy Isn't Partisan

While the “sharing economy,” as it is popularly known, is rapidly becoming a partisan issue on the federal level, Americans of all political leanings—and especially millennials—love these new services. This is the main finding of a new, first of its kind Pew Research Center poll that asked 4,787 Americans how the sharing economy, or Internet-enabled economy, affects their lives.

These services—everything from eBay, TaskRabbit, and Uber, to Airbnb, Rent the Runway, and GoFundMe—have a common theme, as they are on-demand, shared, and collaborative. The proliferation of peer-to-peer online interaction has rapidly decreased the costs of finding goods and services, and review systems empower consumers and increase trust.

The online-economy service that is receiving the most attention from politicians is unquestionably Uber. While Washington Republicans cannot praise the company enough, their Democratic peers do not share this enthusiasm. Earlier this month, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said Uber is “[fighting] against local rules designed to create a level playing field between themselves and their taxi competitors” and relies on “extremely low wages for drivers.”

The Democratic candidates for president also have dim views of Uber. Bernie Sanders told Bloomberg, “I am not a great fan of Uber—you can quote me on that.” The main reason why he has “serious problems” with Uber is that it is “unregulated.” Hillary Clinton argues that Uber succeeds by “misclassifying” its drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. On these points, Pew finds that Americans’ views are the polar opposite. A solid 66 percent of people who use ridesharing think that Uber drivers are independent contractors, whereas only 23 percent see them as Uber employees. Outside Capitol Hill, Americans enjoy the flexible, individualized, and mobile work that the online economy embodies.

Americans know that their Uber drivers show up and appears happy to take them where they want to go. Uber and Lyft do not have problems attracting drivers or customers. Drivers are not oppressed, and many enjoy the option of part-time work that is otherwise not available. Half of Uber drivers drive for less than 10 hours a week and 80 percent of Lyft drivers work with the company for under 15 hours a week. Additionally, nearly 60 percent of ridesharing users believe that Uber should not have to follow outdated taxi regulations, compared with less than a third of users who say that the company should have to. This overwhelming sentiment against heavy-handed regulation was shared by respondents who identified as liberal or as Democrats.

Americans who use these services realize that there are two ways to, as Warren argued, “level the playing field.” One is to apply antiquated regulatory requirements to new technologies (as Austin, Texas recently did by requiring fingerprint background checks for ridesharing drivers). The far superior option is to embrace innovation by getting rid of pointless requirements that tend to protect established businesses rather than consumers (including taxi medallion systems that limit the supply of available cabs).

The growing Democratic opposition to Uber and the online economy as a whole is a losing political strategy. Potential young voters (ages 18 to 29) are nearly five times more likely to use ridesharing as are Americans who are at least 50 years old. Furthermore, only 18 percent of millennials have faith in government regulators to do what is best for the public. It takes a lot to get young people to vote, but if Washington politicians get between millennials and their Ubers, there will be major consequences in November.

This article originally appeared on Forbes

Jared Meyer is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research and the author of the forthcoming monograph Uber-Positive: Why Americans Love the Sharing Economy. Follow him on Twitter here.

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