Reply #99: Because historically it always has.

[Atypical Liberal]

>Why does this HAVE to balance out - in order to give the bosses a reason to cut everyone's pay?

Historically, as areas have developed, wages and standards of living have increased. As people get better things in life they demand more and more better things in life, as do their neighbors.

It happened here in the Southern US. Jobs flooded in from the North to take advantage of the cheaper labor, and consequently the standard of living and wages in the South (and all over the US) rose to comparable levels.

Employers can't just arbitrarily cut pay. There is a point at which people won't do the work.