But her skills aren't worth $25/hr. in Akron, and the people she is competing for work with in NYC ARE subsidized, so they CAN take $25/hr. She's in every slot on Wallerstein's list of income categories. (I'm actually going to commission a large stained glass window from her, to help her through the holiday season.) She literally can't take a 40-hour a week job for even $25/hr because she has zero support/subsidizing from family/partner to keep her finances in the black.
...she bloody well could in Akron, Ohio. But she doesn't want to be in Akron, and I don't blame her.
"Worth" is the wrong way to look at it. She could bag groceries in Akron for $17 an hour. Maybe she can't earn $25 an hour anywhere doing anything except New York and LA. Like I said, civilization concentrates. But if she's making stained glass for someone on the other coast, a proximity to New York isn't a factor in that aspect of her business at least.