Anti-gig law hits home, immediately amended

Well who knew that?

California’s Willie Brown, still politicall powerful at 86 (though whether he can still perform in bed with Kamala Harris is an open question) discovered that a year has 52 weeks when his weekly column for the San Francisco Chronicle had to be suspended after 35 weeks. You’ll never believe what happened next!

Assembly passes, Governor Newsom signs amendment to AB5 in four days, lifting its application to freelance writers. The original bill, which was drafted by the California Federation of Labor, will no longer apply to freelancers, musicians and artists (thank you, Hollywood) but still prevents tens of thousands of ordinary people from working for themselves. Of course, they are neither powerful politicians nor entertainment executives, so screw ’em.

The ban on independent contractors seems especially cruel during a time when the Wuhan Flu panic has shut down their employers’ businesses, but then, impoverishing the masses and forcing them to eat government cheese was always one of the most important goals of AB5 and indeed, the shutdown itself.