It is probably fair to say that each hour of labor is worth the same pay regardless of the job (ignoring market rates, etc). However, the reason I think things like programming or other high skill labor should be worth more, is it does actually involve more labor. First, I had spent at least 4 - 6 hours a day learning the craft, from the time I was 13 years old, improving at a steady rate. Still spend a good 3 - 4 hours a day keeping up. Some skilled crafts also involve a lot of formal education, in addition to many hours of practice. Add on top of that -- when I go home, I'm still constantly thinking about my craft, and problems that I'm currently working on. Therefore, for each hour I'm at work, I probably have spent at least 2 - 3 hours outside of work (either currently, or from past learning).