My new thought on shitty jobs:

We outlaw regular pollution, so why not part-time and contract and gig jobs that create "social pollution"?

Effectively, there's a tremendous amount of social harm that occurs through precarious work (e.g. strains on family, mental illness, substance abuse), so we should provide protections against precarious work and even financially penalize it (much like a carbon tax).

I found it such a great talking point when I was talking with that one (Latina) HR woman who was asking me if I thought someone working a low-skills job *really* deserved $15 an hour, and I was like, "Of course, because if they're not getting paid that, their employer is creating a tremendous amount of social pollution."