Seattle passes new law. It immediately cuts food delivery drivers' take-home pay in half.

Photo above - Seattle Councilwoman Lisa Herbold, who authored the legislation which caused gig drivers' pay to drop 50%.

What's worse than California's $20 minimum wage? Seattle's new $26 an hour minimum wage. The law was named “Pay Up” by its sponsors, and is intended to ensure gig driver earn WELL ABOVE the minimum wage. Drafted by city council member Lisa Herbold. How could paying gig drivers $26 bucks an hour as a minimum wage ruin everything? Read on, and see the links below.

The cost of fast food gig deliveries has gone through the roof. Thousands of customers have suddenly stopped ordering through door dash and uber eats. Thousands more simply drive to Taco Bell and pick up their own orders. Drivers' weekly earnings – as reported by workers themselves – have fallen by half since the “Pay Up” law went into effect. I'm NOT inserting a snark about renaming the bill "Pay-cut".

I was curious if Councilwoman Herbold has any credentials in economics, or real world experience with principles like supply and demand. The evidence is lacking. Ms. Herbold has held various elected positions for decades, and doesn't list any private sector employment on either Linked-In or Facebook. She did take college classes in Poli Sci and journalism at one point though. I guess that's sufficient credentials to set the minimum wage for a city like Seattle though.

Gig food deliveries is a job that didn't even exist a decade ago. It came into full bloom during the Pandemic, when people preferred to chill in front of the TV and have takeout food delivered by total strangers, as a health and safety tactic. It's possible that there are too many food delivery drivers for the volume of food being requested. This is unfortunate but not a tragedy. It's also predictable. Gig workers – most of them – aren't trying to support an entire family by ferrying Chalupas to millennials and gen Z gamers. If a random guy with a car concluded this was a viable primary source of income, they probably don't have any better education than Seattle politician Lisa Herbold.

There are a LOT of jobs which are never going to cover the costs of an apartment, a Tesla, and getting your own door dash food delivered on a rainy day. Those careers include things like burger flipper, Walmart cashier, lawn crew worker, and vape store clerk. All those professions have strong financial headwinds. And setting the wage at $26 wage isn't a long term solution to poor decision making when it comes to seeking work.

I'm just sayin' . . .

~Seattle's Wage Hike Creates New Disaster (msn.com)~

~KUOW - Seattle seeks to raise pay and set labor standards for gig workers~

BizSuitStacy · M

I live just outside of Seattle, and its city council is compromised of leftwing extremists. Former council member, Kshama Sawant, is a dyed in the wool Marxist with a PhD in economics from NC State. Seems to me that they either ignore economic principles, or more likely, are knowingly sabotaging the system. High b&o taxes along with minimum wage wars have driven many small businesses out of Seattle, as well as residents living there. The once beautiful Emerald City has been in a steady, 3rd world slide for several years, and it's become visibly obvious.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@BizSuitStacy the founding fathers feared it would come to this. Allowing "unpropertied" people to vote, who would immediately raise taxes on everyone else, and use the proceeds for government giveaways for themselves.

the next phase is hyperinflation, if you believe in the examples of Argentina, Zimbabwe, the Weimar republic, etc. The Russian ruble is was recently at 1/2 cent. It was at part with the dollar, years ago.