While what you say feels correct (even you say its common sense walking is faster than standing still). You have not read the NYT article...

How about hours worked? That is not mentioned at all in the article and has a great influence on pay. I know several people (all female) that work 30 hour weeks, while they are making the same relative salary (translated to $/hour) they are getting paid less since they work less hours.

The iPhone fits in because if you cannot afford to sustain a normal quality of life and yet you have the newest iPhone it seems that you had enough money to buy something that is a luxury item. It comes down to priorities most of the time. I do agree there are times where a person does not have a livable wage, but…

It is an unskilled job... a 10 year old can do it (obviously working conditions are the issue)

It’s as though he forgot that the platform he is able to talk on was developed with these styles of advancements :-)