I just think the issues are far more complex than the simpleton math that OP attempts to sell. The issue lies at the intersection of many legal theories and rules, culture, and the natural flow of economic markets and systems.
One thing I note here is something I saw with a lot of my classmates as we approached graduation, and that's that many believed that they had to work for someone, for a firm. It didn't even occur to them that they could work for themselves. Mental slaves.
I of course sat down and did some very simple math — "I'm poor as fuck. If I get my license, I can make charge $xxx.xx an hour starting. If I work four hours a month (and collect on it), I can pay rent on a small apartment. If I work another four, I can buy groceries. And so on. I just need to put up an advert and get a one or two clients a month to start."
I didn't have any "profit" my first five years, and there were period were I had employees, and there were times when I loaned money in to make payroll until I collect that "big check" from client X. Cash flow isn't always fluid. I didn't see the employees chipping in their dime or taking a pay cut to help out. Everyone's a communist until they have to pay to keep the business running.
Either that or they want the business to pay wages by distributing rights to collect and/or sue upon accounts recievable to the employee.