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"John Posada" <john -at- tdandw -dot- com> wrote ...
> 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.
Unfair comparison. Doctors and lawyers are not experiencing nearly the decrease
in demand that tech writers are. People will always get sick (population is
rising), and there is an unlimited number of morons who want to sue their way
to happiness. But the need for writers is declining due to a overall decline in
technical/scientific work. Hence, when demand decreases and supply increases,
rates go down. Simple economics.
Furthermore, you cannot have an economic model that is based on the common
good. That has been proven to be ineffective (communism). People work for their
own benefit. As such, when times get tight, there will ALWAYS be people, like
myself, who will gleefully lower our rates to stay alive. You cannot feed your
family or pay a mortgage off of good will and "the common good."
Therefore, tech writers need to become accustomed to lower rates and adjust
their living. Alternatively, those unwilling to adjust their living need to
acquire skills that ARE in demand and will continue to earn high rates.
Andrew Plato
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