Questions about rates? Read this first!

If the rate is too low, then don't apply for the job.

The average rate for hourly work on oDesk has fluctuated between $12.00/hr and $15.00/hr for the last year.  While not astronomical, that's much higher than $2.00/hr.

Most of the buyers who ask for superb work at very low pay don't get it.  Data entry jobs are low paying, but that's because almost anyone can do it and the ratio of providers to jobs in the field is very high.  Other categories pay more.

Having said that, a minimum wage is really irrelevant here, because no one is working for a wage.  What you're really talking about are price controls, because oDesk providers are selling services, not working for a wage, and part of the free market is allowing providers to set their rates.

My first job on oDesk paid $10.00/hr.  That was with no reputation, feedback, or history on oDesk.  Since then my rates have gone nowhere but up.

Some jobs pay very little, others pay a lot.  Pick the ones you want to apply for.

oDesk supports providers charging as much as the market will bear.  That amount is not the same for all providers.

It is always a shock for people to look beyond their own back garden fence. Have a read of NY Times columnist Thomas Freidman's book called Flat World to understand that the global economy is changing fast and will never be the same. oDesk is a manifestation of the phenomenon - you can complain about it but you are missing the boat and failing to see the changes all around us that are moving very rapidly. The 'lazy and complacent' western world is only just starting to get a rude shock. The future will be very different from current practices and the energetic neck of the woods is going to overrun the western world because it knows how to fight harder for a living. I can't help but laugh at people with no oDesk hours who post themselves at $50 without first proving their worth - they will not survive in this increasingly competitive world.

Restrictions on countries will never happen here simply because this is a global market.

Like it or not, outsourcing is part of the business world. It always will be. Not just here in the US, but other countries as well. The UK outsources to us for the same reasons we outsource to India and the Philippines - they get more for their money with the US dollar.

If you want to keep things local, oDesk is not the place for it. You'd be better off lobbying local businesses for their business.

It's economics, plain and simple. Unless you have the ability to create new global laws, the only thing you can do is play the game here like the rest of us...or drop out of it.

People are making $50/hr here, there's no question about it. Assuming that you'll be working for pennies here is just asinine. But, at the same time, you have to be willing to prove that you're worth what you're asking for. Complaining about it here in the forums, especially when a lot of buyers frequent these forums, is certainly not doing anything to change the way the system works.

Good luck in whatever you choose to do. Just know that plenty of people here in the US do make nice livings working strictly through oDesk.