So it was really around 100k over four years with the last 40k covered by your acquisition earnings. So 25k a year on a 100k salary (pre/post-tax?). Which is a lot less than 80k a year. Still impressive, and kudos, but let's not pretend that it's anywhere the same. That's a difference of two whole median incomes per year.
IIRC they only made these tweaks are being pressured by the government. They were perfectly happy breaking the law when it allowed them to grow quickly.
Yeah this entire post is filled with comments misrepresenting (intentionally or unintentionally) the dynamics at play here, and it's all fine and good because "California state government bad."
Employers are not required to provide health plans. The issue is that Uber provides _some_ employees with health plans while keeping their lower-paid workers classified as contractors, even if they work essentially full-time.
I think the heart of the issue is VC-backed startups trying their hardest to circumvent laws until they are big enough that enforcing the laws makes people mad.
I don't think the comment is claiming the OP is a shill; just that OP's description is idealistic i.e. what OP _wants_ to think of the situation, and not authentic to the average driver's experiences.
As far as the median net worth, that's just someone most of the way through paying off their mortgage...