You could use your same argument to say that businesses don’t need to legally pay minimum wage since someone is willing to take less.
These conditions are bad for everybody and create a depressing effect on earnings for workers.
That's really not a bad idea generally. Give them full information and then treat them like adults.
https://thinkprogress.org/mcdonalds-tells-workers-to-budget-...
>McDonalds has partnered with Visa to launch a website to help its low-wage workers making an average $8.25 an hour to budget. But while the site is clearly meant to illustrate that McDonalds workers should be able to live on their meager wages, it actually underscores exactly how hard it is for a low-paid fast food worker to get by.
>The site includes a sample “budget journal” for McDonalds’ employees that offers a laughably inaccurate view of what it’s like to budget on a minimum wage job. Not only does the budget leave a spot open for “second job,” it also gives wholly unreasonable estimates for employees’ costs: $20 a month for health care, $0 for heating, and $600 a month for rent. It does not include any budgeted money for food or clothing.
But I'm sure there's many who really only have Uber/Lyft as an option. They are forced to work for them. They need a 2nd job, and they need a job that provides the flexibility in schedule that Uber/Lyft does. There's really not any other options if that's what is needed.
For example, this book review was posted on HN a few weeks ago: https://ndpr.nd.edu/news/private-government-how-employers-ru...
Well if you leave people out in the desert with nothing but a bottle of urine, they will drink it...that doesn't mean they want to drink urine.
There is a reason we have safety standard, minimum wages and child labor laws. From the sound of it you seem to argue those regulations are to protect workers from themselves, after all no one forced children to work for penny's a day in dangerous environments...but the reality is corporations make the markets not workers and so regulations are to curb those in power whose base instinct is to exploit others for their gains.
Though I’m rather annoyed at all this anecdotal data. If the bill is seriously being considered then surely there will be data to clarify what the reality is for the drivers.