Conveyor belts are expensive to maintain. A family friend in WV was getting paid upwards of $150k a year in a town where most people lived in poverty simply because he was the guy to call when a coal mine's conveyor belt was broken. Not only was he paid so much because of the critical need (no coal coming out = no money coming in), but because every job was a big job since there was never much time for maintenance.
> [the guy] was getting paid upwards of $150k a year in a town where most people lived in poverty simply because he was the guy to call when a coal mine's conveyor belt was broken
So... most of the people there had to live in poverty just because that one guy gets paid so much for broken conveyor belts?
No, the town was in poverty because the business owners had leverage to squeeze most of the workers. Conveyor belt guy had the skillset and gumption to actually get paid for his labor, because there was no alternative.
Blame the corporation that squeezes its employees for every dime, not a front line worker who actually manages to get paid appropriate compensation.
