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Using a sample of say.....1,000 individuals....let's see this through the eyes of the local, state and federal governments, and vendors such as health insurance, P&C insurance, etc.
When these 1,000 workers are regular employees, their employers are subject to rules and regulations (think OSHA, DOT, Unemployment, etc), their employers are going to buy group benefits, work comp, commercial insurance policies, and these employees will file simple tax returns and be accounted for in the overall economy of those municipalities, agencies, and vendors.
Now, pretend they all leave their employers and become independent self-employed business owners.
They fall under the radar of many governmental regulations, including safety, work comp, commercial auto, excess, etc.
They are more likely to be uninsured both with health and P&C coverage.
Nobody, except the self-employed individual, really benefits from these folks starting their own business.
Who has the power to make life harder for the self-employed individual? The very institutions and organizations I mentioned above.