Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

I have three adult sons. They are a study in delving into the sharing economy.

I have three adult sons. One has a traditional paid job. He leaves his home five mornings a week, drives to an office, works, and receives a paycheck that is 100% of his income.

A second son works from four to seven days a week. Sometimes he works days and sometimes he works nights. His paycheck is about 50% of his income.

A third son works a few hours a night two or three nights a week. He works an hour or two here and there during the week teaching people one on one. Sometimes he works a six-hour day for three or four days in a row, but then doesn’t do that for weeks at a a time. He receives a dozen different paychecks each month.

My three sons have three different personalities. That is normal. The oldest is four years older than the youngest. Those four years saw a huge difference in the health of the U.S. economy. My third son scrambles for a living. That is explained by his personality and by the health of the economy. The traditional job and economy of the first son described is disappearing.

Maybe, just maybe, one day the traditional economy will return to some of its former health. Until then, the generation of my sons will scramble about in the sharing economy.