I've noticed this is also true in regards to how employers treat employees. Low wage workers are treated like shit, and higher wage workers tend to enjoy more flexibility and benefits. How much someone is willing to pay you for your labor may in fact be a direct measurement of how much they value you as a person.
I think you might have this flipped (not that it's any better). If someone pays you more, they assume you're more valuable and to some extent assume you're a better person.
I think we're in agreement on that point. It may go even further though, and I suspect the act of paying someone poor wages in of itself leads to perceiving them as property.
