It's kind of just a product of Inflation, I believe. When the cost / price of everything goes up, even clients try to 'cut costs' , hoping to get the same high-quality for 'dirt cheap'.
"Please build me an entire I-Phone app and an entire Android app which is a full social media platform. Deliver within 18 hours. Software code must be flawless. Fixed price: $5"
Many clients believe if you just 'demand' lots of stuff for a cheap price, then the price itself goes down ' by nature'. However, that's not how Inflation works. Things cost what they cost, and you can either afford it or you can't. 'Demanding' and 'wishing for' a cheaper price doesn't actually cause the price to actually go down. It didn't work when the Gas prices went up over $5.00/gallon and it's not going to work now. A few months ago, if you didn't pay whatever the price was on the gas pump when you drove up, you simply didn't receive any gas: You had to either keep driving around until you found gas you could afford or go without the gas, but yelling at the gas station attendant and telling them what you thought the gas was 'worth' didn't put gas in your car or result in a lower price. You either had to pay or leave. Simple. Those are your options. The same thing is true with Labor: Just because clients are being penny-wise and pound-foolish, doesn't mean any freelancer should simply begin offering Labor at the 'cheaper' price they demand just to meet their demands. The real world value of the Labor didn't go 'down', so there is no reason for a freelancer's price to 'go down'.
I see quite a few jobs listed like that, and also see very few proposals sent in for those types of unrealistic jobs - at least in my Industry. Just because a client 'demands' and 'wishes' the could get a top-notch mobile developer to build a full app for $5, doesn't make it a reality. None of the seasoned freelancers will bid on it, and whatever proposals they get are usually from unproven people on the platform that are very likely to not be able to complete the job, or possibly just rip the client off or waste their time. But, hey, you get what you pay for. The 'cheapest' option doesn't always 'save money' in the long-run. Sometimes it is better to wait until you can actually afford what you need instead of offering garbage wages and getting garbage in return. Clients like that usually get the message when their job posts keep getting ignored or after enough serious/proven freelancers they 'invite' laugh in their faces like "Is this a joke?"
