The Flexible Labor Force

This article (via Manan Shukla) is ostensibly about unpaid internships, but it is really about the reality of the global labor market.  Workers are commodities that are leased on the market.  They are no longer purchased.  The term of the lease is up to the employer.  Wages are the largest expense for most firms, and firms need to be able to respond quickly to changes.  They have applied the just in time inventory method to their labor force.  Temporary employees fit this need and they are also less expensive.  Most are not provided with benefits.  This is shareholder capitalism.