[...] The problem is the age-old one of those who have not being willing to pay a living wage for work they believe is "beneath them". [...]
It seems to me that is a pure supply and demand balancing issue? E.g. if the price of having someone mow your lawn rises to $1,000 a month for an average suburban home, a lot more people would get a lawnmower and (re)discover the fitness benefits of doing their own gardening... If the price of mowing the lawn falls to $10, a lot of people would take that offer, and find their exercise somewhere else.
So, those jobs that pay very little, probably pay very little because:
(1) people are not willing to pay all that much for them, instead doing it themselves if the price is "not worth it" (inelastic demand curve), and
(2) a relatively large number of people are able to do simple jobs that require no particular skills other than showing up (large supply)
The problem is that "the machine" allows a very few people to keep that actual supply & demand artificially skewed in their favor... so that, like in your case, the individual who wants to do yard work has to lay out huge cash expenditure in terms of advertising, upscale trade dress, insurance and permits up front to even be able to work at what he's good at.
Or, in some markets, one has to actually buy into a franchise for that kind of work, because there are regional franchisers who've cornered the market on the higher tax bracket neighborhoods and you literally can be run off as a vagrant if your work vehicle isn't flying the right colors. *coughSquirrelHillcough*
Your hypothetical self-employed gardener, once an honorable if menial profession, now finds himself left with a choice between working under the table for scraps by words of mouth, or going to work for someone who does have the money for all that up front, and getting paid... again... scraps. Okay, maybe he's not that hypothetical; I might have known him once upon a time. ![Wink ;)](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/xwink.gif.pagespeed.ic.cldandycH0.png)
No, it's the "Ponzi Scheme Economy" money pyramid we need to fix first... we need to stop letting the machine which is directed by the very few set the price on a man's labor; they've proven again and again they will do anything rather than pay a man a living wage. After that, actual Supply & Demand will level things out.
mnem
![Popcorn :popcorn:](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/EatingPopcorn.jpg.pagespeed.ce.yJ6TmC5fSa.jpg)
Again you are showing your USA blinkers. Next door is paying there lawnmowing guy $50AUD or about $35USD for 40 minutes of work plus some travelling.
And if you keep bleating about the 'machine' while promoting Amazon as gods gift to the masses I am going to call you a hypocritical asshole! Oh wait I did ![Laughing :-DD](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/smiley_laughing.gif.pagespeed.ce._hfWAz_QHO.gif)
Not to be a dick aboot it bean, but you live in the ass-end of nowhere, and modern business practices don't apply to you because those motherfuckers just haven't gotten around to you yet. Don't worry; they will soon enough, unless you fight it tooth and claw.
Obviously, they're going concentrate their efforts on the major population centers, as that's where they can control the most people for the least amount of expenditure and reap the greatest profit. Your neighborhood will be included in the next generation's efforts; rest assured.
As for me "promoting" Amazon... come on, you know me better than that. But just like you buying all your China-direct 3DP and Laser Cutter parts,
I have to go where I can get what I need.Right here, right now, that is NOT the brick & mortars. They are all just an outlet for the same megas you and I are decrying. We don't have the small, local merchants here to buy from... they're all closed down due to COVID. The ones who are open are located downtown, right in the middle of the COVID petri dish.
When I post aboot Amazon, it is more a matter of amazement that they can offer "XYZ" at all, much less at a competitive price and delivered in timely manner to my door.
Of course, that all relies on people like bd and their software expertise
and the corporate machine that pays for it all to make that kind of selection possible from my own living room.
But if I am going to be forced to buy from a mega anyways... which in this market I am, I'm going to buy from the one that has what I need, not pay huge markup for whatever's close enough according to some asshole 5000 kliks away who doesn't even know what he's selling; only that it supposedly can fill hot buzzwords on somebody else's list.
mnem
![Flogging A Dead Horse :horse:](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/DeadHorse.gif)