The Government Accountability Office recently released a report charging that workers in the app-based industry had one of the highest use rates of government assistance programs. The insinuation was that app-based workers need assistance programs because they earn too little. The report has it backward. App-based work is not the source of financial uncertainty — it’s the response.

People choose to work with platforms like Uber and DoorDash to shore up their financial security. Framing it the other way around maligns an industry that has revolutionized earning by diversifying opportunity, increasing access, and creating a ready-made fallback income.