According to reliable sources like PayScale and Bureau of Labour Statistics of the US, the average monthly salary of an American content writer is roughly around $3200, which is also nearly the average monthly salary in America.Upon calculation, the average daily wages of an American content writer would be $106. Any pay below this bar is considered demeaning to a writer, because a writer's efforts result in pure creation, original ideas which are actually worth thousands of dollars in the Internet business. Let us agree that an average content writer can write a maximum of 5 x 500 word article in an 8-hour shift. So, each article would be worth at least $21.
So, it is perfectly reasonable for American writers to protest the $4-$10 bids by writers from other parts of the globe, but I have one thing to tell the writers in America- The very reason behind the $4-$10 bids that you loathe, is the greedy corporates within your own nation, who have no shame in undervaluing the talents of a writer.
Why do the Asian countries bid so low in the first place? The cost of living in these countries are low? Not at all! The prices of gasoline and vegetables are many times costlier than in the US, and are rising every hour. The reason is, in countries like India and China, the lifestyle is very different from that of the Americans. With the teeming population in these countries the primary goal of a person is staying alive than earning a living. The basic needs of an Indian or a Chinese is only a fraction of what the Americans list as their basic needs. In America, people talk of laundry bills, which must be very surprising for an average Indian or Chinese, who still wash their clothes on rocks. It looks perfectly reasonable for writers in India and other Asian countries to bid such low amounts,but what they do not realize is that the prices of their basic needs would soon reach for their necks. Nowadays, $4 is demeaning even for an Indian writer. So, it is indeed time for Indian and other Asian writers to raise their bars.
