You get what you pay for...

Apparently, with the current economy freelance writers are not the only ones pointing out that you get what you pay for. NPR ran a story today on a new book called Cheap, in which the author, Ellen Ruppel Shell, talks about the hidden ways we pay for it when we buy things at discount prices. It's not about the dramatic reduction in quality — it's also about the risk of deflation.

This reminded me so much of the ongoing talk of writers rates' and that clients get what they pay for. The other issue is, of course, that writers' rates trending downward also downgrades the industry, and makes it more difficult to earn a living as a writer. If we aren't careful, and writers' rates fall too much, will writers from India, who speak English as a second language, be the only way to find a writer — kind of like how discount superstores like Wal-Mart and Target dominate the shopping scene now?