> any potential employee falls under the same laws and companies have to get things done The externalities are the killer here; companies slow down their hirin

> any potential employee falls under the same laws and companies have to get things done The externalities are the killer here; companies slow down their hiring by default, economic velocity decreases, and escape velocity becomes unattainable. > Your argument could equally be applied to a university degree, or to prior experience - both mean you expect higher pay and so by your logic companies are less likely to even interview you That higher pay is not a given because it's not mandated. You might expect higher pay but then be sadly disappointed when you find out that the market doesn't value your additional experience or university degree the way that you do, even though you owe $100k for the piece of paper. (Of course, the opposite can also be true and hopefully often is, but the point is that the market decides based on what's most efficient for the company and will help them generate more money fastest.) Free markets are essentially self-optimizing.