Activists in Seattle said app-based gig workers were being exploited.
So politicians eagerly came to the rescue with a new $26 minimum wage.
Did it work? No.
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The politicians believed companies like Uber and Doordash make so much money they could eat the cost without raising prices.
Judge Glock of the Manhattan Institute explains why that’s not true. “Obviously, when you’re increasing cost to businesses, you’re going to increase cost to customers.”
That’s exactly what happened.
Prices went up, and many people stopped ordering delivery. DoorDash got 1.7 million fewer orders in 2024.
Fewer orders meant less work and less pay for drivers.
“A lot of politicians want to believe there’s a free lunch,” says Glock. “The actual effect was … to sabotage one of the most successful businesses in the city.”
Full story on how Seattle and New York City politicians hurt the gig economy in my video above.
