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> > I would imagine that the decline in the hourly-rate is from
> > supply-and-demand forces. Is that it, or is there other reasons
> > for why the going rate has plunged since the 90's?
> Kinda...but to me, that isn't the actual root cause OF THE
> LOWER RATES. I'm not addressing economy, or downturn, or any
> other factors....just why are rates lower.
>
> The reason for the decline in rates is that when they were
> offered, they were accepted. The reason they were accepted
> doesn't interest me. You don't see doctors or lawyers taking
> rate cuts because of the economy. If writers had refused to
> accept the lower rates, the rates would still be the same.
Spend enough time on the sidelines after earning $60/hour and $40/hour
(eventually) isn't so bad any longer. Seeing one's friends ALSO on the
sidelines ALSO unable to get a writing contract leads one to understand
that it is not just their own bad luck. The banks will only wait so long
for that mortgage payment. Less companies = less contracts available =
more unemployment = more competition and less work = lower rates. It's
simple, it's supply and demand, and it's eventually going to reverse.
And the only way to make practical your suggestion (don't accept the
lower rate) is to all-at-once unionize the tech sector.
Given rates that FAR exceed what auto workers, teamsters, etc and the
like are earning (at least in Canada), I can't see techies wanting
unions. I remember working for a union and being scolded for being "too
productive." I was making colleagues look bad. I was not acting in the
interest of the union. You might ask what interest that would be? The
only one I could think of was perpetual mediocrity. So, for my money it
is No Thanks to unions -- let the other sectors keep 'em.
As for supply and demand, that's all it is, and it's nothing personal.
Now, if you want to talk about North American companies sending jobs to
India, that's another matter. THAT is robbing us of work. THAT is what
we should find a way to halt.
TTFN,
Tom Eagles
tekwriter -at- sympatico -dot- ca
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