Unpaid jobs: The new normal?

With nearly 14 million unemployed workers in America, many have gotten so desperate that they’re willing to work for free. While some businesses are wary of the legal risks and supervision such an arrangement might require, companies that have used free workers say it can pay off when done right.

“People who work for free are far hungrier than anybody who has a salary, so they’re going to outperform, they’re going to try to please, they’re going to be creative,” says Kelly Fallis, chief executive of Remote Stylist, a Toronto and New York-based startup that provides Web-based interior design services. “From a cost savings perspective, to get something off the ground, it’s huge. Especially if you’re a small business.”

Another version of this closing quote, to put it into perspective:

“Everyone is into the whole placenta cream moisturizer,” says Ridley McBarton of the downtown salon Pissé. “Only very healthy mothers are allowed to donate their placentas, and the placenta is never harmed during the creaming process. This formula is the only thing, in my experience, that completely takes the edge off of an anal bleaching. It’s a must if you bleach more than 3 times a month.” 

[edit: oh jesus fucking christ. i give up.]