system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How come people in America need $15/hr jobs if people from Asia can apparently live off ridiculous wages like $2/hr?

What causes everything to be so expensive in America vs. other countries? Why don't prices fall to meet those other nations when things like outsourcing and free trade come up?
gpt
Accepted standards of living, and societal expectations of what you will be capable of doing. 

Our standard of living requires that everyone have enough food for 3 meals a day, electricity in our homes, running water in our homes, plumbing in our homes, air conditioning, entertainments (books, tv, cable, internet, video games, etc), communication devices (e-mail, physical mail, telephone, instant messaging, texting, skype, etc), personal transportation, medications, and many other things. The reason people in Asia can pay so little is that they do not have these same basic standards of living. To them those things are luxuries. 

We also require people to be accessible. Many jobs require you to be able to transport yourself to your work or to travel fairly significant distances on your own. Many jobs require you to have a cell phone or at minimum a landline phone. Many jobs require you to have regular access to e-mail. Without these things it can be difficult to get a job or keep one.