Suppose there was a bill passed tomorrow, creating a law that made the minimum hourly pay rate for engineers in the US $10,000/hr. As of tomorrow, paying a US engineer anything less than that minimum rate would become illegal.
Would you care?
Well, if you're a US engineer, I hope your answer is, "Hell, yes I'd care. What a stupid law". And, contrariwise, if you're an engineer anywhere else, you could be forgiven for rubbing your hands in glee at the thought of all that formerly US work coming your way.
But suppose, now, that the same law was created, but with an "Only If You Want To" exception. In other words, suppose the law said that your clients could pay you no less than $10,000/hr, unless you and your client made a prior arrangement for a lower rate. Let's call that prior arrangement an ... oh, I dunno ... how about "a contract".
Now would you care?
