I didn't mean to imply that it is illegal, it most certainly isn't. Being 'legal and above board' and doing what is best for all are sometimes two very different things. Using contractors to replace full time employees is a trend that is growing. Companies that used to use full time hire employees to do a job now hire "contractors" to do the same work instead. We are not talking about what we commonly think of as independent contractors; people who are experienced at a specialized service and know how to run a business. The type of contractors I am talking about aren't usually people with a lot of (or any) business acumen. They have no idea of overhead and the cost of doing business. They quite possibly graduated from high school and can't even count change. They are working at entry level positions. They do these jobs because not because it is a good deal but because it is a job they can get. Some of the these contractor positions I have seen most recently are commercial fishing jobs, a lot of electronic related positions (Dish TV installers for instance), non-union skilled trades (entry level and above carpenters, laborers, electricians, roofers etc.) agricultural workers, Uber drivers, truck drivers, car wash employees, etc. I am not saying this can't work well for the 'contractor' in the short term, but in terms of benefits it more frequently means it doesn't work at all. Nor am I saying it is always inappropriate. But I am saying that it is starting to be used by some businesses as a way to avoid social responsibility.
You are absolutely correct in that is entirely in keeping with what our free market system is all about these days. If you can take advantage of someone, do it.
Another popular and fully legal ploy, especially for young employees is to hire them just part time and hire a lot of employees to fill the hours they need. (That strategy has some problems in finding enough people these days, but it is still what they do). In many States this allows you to avoid paying out certain benefits, (workman's comp) as well as health insurance, retirement programs, etc . This is common in the fast food business in our area. These McJobs supposedly targeted for people just out of high school are often being filled by people raising families.
If you listen to many people, all of the people who are poor and use social benefits are bums, drug addicts, incorrigibly lazy, illegal aliens, irresponsible, or whatever other kind of low life. I don't disagree for a second that there is a sizable percentage who are some form of lowlife, and I don't have a lot of sympathy for them. (However a percentage of those could be classified as mentally ill, but that is another sad story). But I know damn well that a lot of people on the bottom of the pile that aren't at all of that nature. Far more than many of us who have money might think.
I am not against free enterprise or the free market system at all. There is not a better way. But I don't think the goal of it should be for some to manipulate it so as to earn enough to live a life of luxury at the expense of others who can't earn enough to afford basic necessities. Our system needs tweaking, and we often tend to just blame it on the poor for being poor as opposed to trying to fix it. I sometimes just don't get it.
