Uber: "Platform" or "Employer"?

Uber has been under a lot of scrutiny for its practices lately, including a California labor dispute in which Uber was found to be an employer.

Uber maintains that it is a "platform" which arranges rides between customers and drivers.

The problem I have with this claim is that Uber has very strict rules about who can use its platform to be a driver.  Some examples:

• Cars must be newer than certain years (depends on market)
• Cars must be safety inspected above and beyond local registration requirements
• Drivers must pass background checks, including driving records
• Drivers are not allowed to carry firearms
• Drivers must be 21 years old (older than legal adult age of 18)

At what point does this list of requirements tip the scales from "platform" to "employer"?

You want an old fashioned truck...

Suppose you want a basic, American, old school work truck.  Something to get around town, move some supplies, but you don't need a ton of gadgets, and you want it cheap.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Chevrolet offers their Colorado mid-sized pickup in an extended cab, long bed, manual transmission, vinyl floor covering trim that MSRPs for only $21,000.  Which means with some negotiating skills, or perhaps your GM loyalty discount, you can get a olde tyme pick-up truck for about $20,000.

Also, impressive for this price, Chevy still gives you A/C, a color LCD radio display with USB port, plus all of the federal safety goodies: traction control, stability control, multiple airbags, etc.

The most basic Ford truck comes in at $25,000 for a regular cab short bed, with automatic transmission (no manual offered).

The simplest Ram truck is the, Ram 1500 Tradesman, which runs $26,000 for a regular cab short bed 4x2, automatic transmission only. 

TaxAct error: "PDF import down for maintenance"

If you are using TaxAct software, and you try to import a TurboTax PDF return from the prior year as a starting point, it will fail.  This is because TaxAct does not like long file names!  

The error I got was "PDF import is down for maintenance, please try again in a few minutes".

In fact it works fine.  Just copy your long file name PDF to somethign short, e.g. "2013.pdf", and use that.  This is a bug that TaxAct tech support confirmed for me when I called to ask about it.