"So if in your area a moron is gigging for $100 a gig, people will think youre way to expensive when you charge $300 a gig."
Bachus,
I totally agree with your last comment... As long as there is some Moron doing the same gig for $100 that is what really kills it for being able to get compensated for today's reality of pricing. $$$
Just like any market, "supply & demand" as long as some idiot is causing the fee structure to crash, then it becomes challenging to justify what the year 2013 reasonable compensation should be.
In my area: Southeast Florida, I blame the guys that work the same circuit as me, that are still charging what the fee structure was 28 years ago, for the realistic reason why my fees seem so "out of line" compared to what they are still working for which is only $50 per hour!!!
The person doing the hiring at the Venue constantly gives me the rebuttal that: "The other guys are doing the gig for $150!"
Ron, in Port Saint Lucie, Florida [Southeast Florida]