Athletes and celebrities are paid because of economic productivity? It definitely seems like social value based on restricted supplies.
If there are lot of participants in a labor pool, naturally wages will be under constant pressure. The barriers to entry also play a role.
For those RN's quitting, they will simply be replaced by foreign workers. It's similar to how certain jobs no longer have locals in it anymore, instead relying on migrant workers. It's the reality in Singapore for instance and naturally creates an implicit caste system.
Now the markets have evolved/evolving where incumbent locals are no longer granted the same privileges they once enjoyed, somebody who does not have the luxury to consider alternatives will be the ones who fill the jobs, and get the blame when the descendants of local incumbents cannot make their way back.
This is sort of the system I am seeing emerging and it explains the anxiety of us vs them. In reality, the government, markets simply do not care for such superficiality. It seeks to accomodate those who are productive, not sit around waiting for higher powers to "fix". And as such, this dynamic ensures wages in certain industries stagnate, and it's especially true in markets with the characteristics I mentioned above: low barrier to entry and abundant supply of labor.
