The Economic Water Hole

As a group, women, visible minorities and immigrants such as Clarke are almost 50 per cent more likely to be working for minimum wage than the general population: 13 per cent versus 9 per cent, according to the study.  Meantime, recent immigrants like Aggarwal are more than twice as likely to hold minimum wage jobs at 19 per cent, the study says.

Why would this be?  It's easy; increased competition leads to more gut reactions on hiring and rewards those who are more aggressively competitive, better connected or more attractive (i.e. like the employer) regardless of skill.  

Competition isn't about getting more by spending more, it's about getting more for less.  Social evolution relies on innovation and collaboration, not individual "fitness" and ability to get ahead.  When you apply biological evolutionary competition to a social evolutionary model, it becomes a race to the bottom.

Which why regardless of whether we want selfish competitiveness, what we need is visionary leadership.