> We have tons of people who are locked out of well paying jobs because they can't get on the job experience or even get in the door at the wages being required

> We have tons of people who are locked out of well paying jobs because they can't get on the job experience or even get in the door at the wages being required (and experience demanded by those wages). Young people, people with less education. Minorities. Did you know that? It actually causes some people's heads to explode, that the good intentions of a policy actually might hurt the people it's designed (in a very coarse way) to benefit. As a (former) working musician, I saw almost the exact opposite problem. The only people who would get jobs were the rich white kids who were doing it as a hobby so didn't need to live off the wages they were being paid. This is where mentorship and apprenticeship comes in. Assistants and such can get on-the-job training while still being paid for their time and effort. No one's gonna hire someone who's never picked up a camera before just because they don't want to pay them. No matter what, an artisan needs a portfolio, which means time given up for free anyways. No one considers what a fair wage is. Theyre gonna pay the least amount they can get away with is. I mean, if you genuinely don't have any money in your budget for a photographer, it might be better to just not hiring a photographer. Even if they are trying to just build out their portfolio, they're doing a service for you.