Good thing you don't live in the Yukon and need your generator worked on because my charge out rate is 125 bucks an hour..........then you could really rant. By saying "I don't even get paid that" tells me all I need to know about you.....Did you go to post secondary school for years (at your own expense), did you invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment, tooling, buildings, employees and more. How would 9 years in the military qualify you for a pay scale of $85/hr..........oh ya but I forgot ....the world revolves around you so everyone else should make less than you, regardless of skills, training and investment.
Your rant and overall attitude are a disgrace to the uniform you wear.............if you aren't making enough money to keep up with charge out rates of services you require to live, then may I suggest you change jobs.........oh but wait, you aren't qualified to do anything else are you? There are many people out there that make less money than you do and quite likely work harder for it and I don't see them on here ranting ridiculously about what a qualified shop charges work out at. Maybe you and your buddy need to find a different hobby, one that falls within your income level...............To put things in perspective I just paid more than that yesterday for 2 lbs of gunpowder, you think it takes the factory more than an hour to make 2 lbs of powder, of course not, you think maybe they have other expenses than just a few pennies worth of materials...........Guys like you really pi$$ me off, and I have seen hundreds of your sort, after more than 30 years in business. You're also the same kind of guy, who when someone in business does give you a break, you forget to pay............like I said I've seen hundreds of your kind!!!