Overview
What happens when a city decides, by law, how much a job is worth? In this video, John Stossel examines Seattle’s $26 minimum pay standard for app-based delivery drivers and asks a simple question: did it work? Drawing on the experiences of drivers and customers, along with commentary from Judge Glock of the Manhattan Institute, the video traces how a well-intentioned law meant to help workers raised prices, cut order volume, reduced tips, and left drivers no better off. It is a clear, real-world case study in price controls, supply and demand, and the unintended consequences of policy.

Enter your email address below to access these resources

To help ensure our emails reach your inbox, you may provide a personal email address to bypass school spam filters.

Grade level and subjects
• Recommended for grades 6-12
• Subjects: Business, Government, Economics
• Works in Classroom, Hybrid, and Homeschool settings

What students will learn
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
• define the terms price control, supply, and demand as they apply to app-based delivery work;
• describe how Seattle’s minimum pay standard changed delivery prices, order volume, and driver tips;
• trace the chain of cause and effect that kept drivers’ total earnings from rising after pay per task increased; and
• judge whether a per-task minimum pay law is an effective way to raise gig workers’ incomes.

Key concepts and terms covered
App-Based Gig Work, Free Entry, Gig Economy, Incentive, Local Law 115 of 2021, Minimum Wage, Price Control, Price Floor, Profit, Supply and Demand, Tip, Trade-Off, and Unintended Consequence.

Sample discussion questions
• What was the city’s solution, and what specific pay rate did it guarantee delivery drivers?
• According to the video, what did supporters assume companies such as Uber and DoorDash would do with the higher costs? What actually happened?
• DoorDash reported 1.7 million fewer orders in Seattle. Walk through the chain of cause and effect: higher pay per task leads to what, and then to what?
• Stossel says, “The market is actually deciding what someone’s job is worth.” What does he mean by this, and how is it different from a politician setting the price?
• Defenders of minimum pay laws argue they protect vulnerable workers from being underpaid. What is the strongest version of that argument, and how might the video’s evidence respond to it?

What’s in the free teacher’s guide
This printable 28-page Teacher’s Guide includes a lesson description, learning objectives, key vocabulary, a fill-in viewing guide with answer key, discussion and analysis questions, classroom activities, and the full video transcript.

Standards alignment
Aligned to state standards — use the SITC Standards Tool to match this video to the standards in your state.

Related resources
• Minimum Wage Hurts Beginners — A short video examining how minimum wage laws affect the very workers they are meant to help, especially young and low-skilled beginners. A direct companion for weighing whether setting pay by law raises workers’ incomes.
• Outlawing Price Gouging — Explores what happens when the government caps prices during an emergency. Pairs well as another look at price controls and their unintended effects on supply and consumers.
• How Rent Control Hurts Renters — Examines rent control as a price ceiling and its consequences for the renters it is meant to protect. A useful contrast to the price floor in this video, showing how controls in either direction create trade-offs.
• Lessons in Lyrics: “Incentives Matter” — A short, musical exploration of how incentives shape behavior in markets and beyond. Reinforces the video’s point that changing pay and prices changes how workers, businesses, and customers act.
• Nanny State Daycare — Looks at how well-intentioned regulations drive up the cost of child care and leave parents with fewer choices. Another real-world case study in the unintended consequences of policy.