First, “how does this relate to this subreddit”: I quit my $15/hr warehouse job 2 months ago, and don't plan to work again anytime soon, because I'm worth more than what you're putting me through.
Human labor. Wouldn't you agree that the person working, should be the ones to decide their worth? When you introduce a set wage, you are putting a limit to value of human labor. How arbitrary it is for hard construction labor for $20/hr, worth the same as a librarian/social media manager if also paid $20/hr? (This is an example). The construction worker may feel that working in the hot sun and being physically exhausted is worth at least $50/hr, where most may agree the low stress work of a SMM should have less pay than the CW.
1. A problem may be that in solo profession jobs such as tattoo artist, private chef, author etc., may set their price on their labor, astronomically high.
A solution is that you the consumer, can choose affordability vs quality. A cheap tattoo or an detailed intricate one. Highly rated masseuse on yelp, or a parlor with 1 star reviews. Competition still exists.
2. Another problem is that everyone desires higher pay/wage/more money. The librarian/SMM may feel they are worth also $50/hr. The employer can disagree and they will not come to hire for such.
The solution to this is that both come to terms with reality in some way. The librarian seeks $50/hr, finds no one will hire, and reluctantly comes to terms with a lower one. The employer wants to hire the construction worker for $5/hr, finds no one willing to work for that, and raises the rate. There is a equilibrium point that has been reached naturally.
3. An additional concern is that not everyone can be self employed and make a larger profit margin by being a solo profession, (ex: coach/personal trainer, music instructor, tutor, etc. ) Not everyone possesses the resources or knowledge required for a specific job. Some large scale operations that cater to the public (grocery, food service, etc) need employees to keep the business running.
In this scenario, still, having some control over what you believe your wage should be, is not impossible. This is what labor unions are fighting for, fair wages and compensation. You may not get the ideal (see problem 2), but by banding together, you have power to raise the unjust wage.
Now going back to the original title thesis, a fixed wage hinders performance-based work and inadvertently rewards unproductivity. But because it has been accepted as the norm, You are the horse with the the dangling bait. The phrase “The harder you work, the richer someone else gets”, is true. This is why I wholly support sole professions and buy from local mom and pop shops/small businesses, and abhor large corporation entities that pay their employees next to nothing. This post is made from thoughts I've collected, in order to spread awareness to those unaware of their self worth in the work force, and to promote mass unemployment to collapse the giant that controls the strings, until the people take back what is rightfully theirs.