On some level, lower wages simply boil down to cheapskate employers. With unions still in decline and largely unable to organize the service sector -- high turnover, low expectations among workers, and lack of effort on the part of unions all play a role--employers will pay as little as they can get away with. They may complain about how hard it is to find good workers and keep them around, staple complaints of the business press these days, but the last thing they want to do is pay for quality and stability. They're offering all sorts of low-cost gimmicks, from Friday afternoon beer busts to stock options (some private firms are offering options on stock that doesn't even exist yet, but which may, should they ever go public). But higher pay? Sacrilege.