I have never gotten into Mechanical Turk, but I do freelance work online. My &quot;hourly wage&quot; depends in part on how together I am. I am medically handicapped. Some days, I am fairly together and can make around $12&#x2F;hour -- not dissimilar form what I was making at a corporate job after a few pay raises. On a so-so day, it can take me forever to complete tasks, lowering my &quot;hourly wage.&quot; However, I still need the money, even if the hourly wage is not great. (Edit: On a bad day, I typically do not work. And I don&#x27;t get fired for missing a lot of days. This was a constant worry at my corporate job.)<p>Do I wish I earned more per hour? Sure. But I worry about people who want to &quot;improve&quot; conditions for people choosing to do this kind of work. I cannot take a normal job and have any hope of getting well and staying well. I walked away from a corporate job because it was helping to keep me sick.<p>For me, this kind of low wage work buys me precious freedom and control over my life. If you take it from me, I am left with what? Panhandling? Prostitution? ...??? I don&#x27;t know what I would be left with. But people making $100&#x2F;hour should butt the hell out with their excessively privileged ideas about &quot;good working conditions&quot; and let people like me have some freedom to choose. It isn&#x27;t like most people actually give a damn how hard life is for me or others like me.