Buck a word; why there are no old freelancers

It seems that a few years ago, most larger books got up to the $1 a word threshold for freelance writing and simply stalled. Many smaller and regional books never even got close and have paid the same 30 cents a word they've paid for years. Or $100 for a feature, believe it or not. They appear not to have noticed that the Consumer Price Index was not repealed and that Canadian cities have become