I posted about this a while back along the fiscal side of it but there were a lot of things that I did not mention.

-We get zero benefits. That means if we are sick for a week, month, year we don't make any money yet still have to pay our bills somehow. If you go to the dentist shell out (unless you have purchased your own coverage of course)

-We do not qualify for EI. Being self employed means that you don't have to pay into EI (w00 h00) but it also means that if a contract ends we can not collect.

-Training costs double. First off you have to pay for the course (and travel to it) itself. Second you are not being able to bill for that time so it costs you money to go.

-Vacations are the same way in that you just don't make any money for that period. (Maybe this is why a lot of contractors seem to always be working)

I recently had a friend of mine have a heart attack and has to take two months of work. Thankfully his company is paying him a salary while he is off. I was thinking how that would affect contractors. If you could not bill for 2+ months could you afford that?