The pay in the US is also less than an 8 hour job too. But in other parts of the world where $150 is enough to survive then it's way better than an 8 hour job.
As far as effort, it really depends on what the topic is. I'm sure blogging about the food you are eating with the $5 a day wouldn't take much effort and could pay for itself.
My friend from Nigeria on Steemit is doing rather well.....better than most Americans on Steemit......
for some reason when I think about salaries, I'm not sure why I always think about Venezuela. Average monthly wage there is 33$. the monthly steem pool could provide average wages for 50k Venezuelans.
https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-average-wage-in-Venezuela
Changing the world. Normal day in SteemLand :)