dang, those guys are working cheap.

I seriously would not get out of bed for $35 per hour today. profit isn't a dirty word. gouging, however, is, and free markets tend to curtail that. I'm sure you realize that running a legitimate business costs money for stuff like insurance, workers comp., advertising, travel, etc. these things have to be figured into the cost of every job, and are part of that hourly charge. beyond that, what are you willing to pay to hire people to work in your house with your wife and children that you trust? what are you willing to pay for reliability, punctuality, experience, craftsmanship? some peoples time is just more valuable than others when it comes to service. there is no more glaring example of "you get what you pay for" than in custom residential repaint work. everybody always disrespecting my trade. it's no wonder we all drink so much.
One more off topic post for this. How do you stay sane quoting jobs in such a crazy market? 0n commercial projects, a 2million dollar project contractors may be within 10k of each other and often times are far closer in competition. I find in residential someone might receive bids of 2k 3.5k 6k from three contractors way, freaking different. I have a hard time thinking a guy down the road is making double of what I might make even if he is a snake, but I'd feel like a dirtbag charging what some people are willing to pay. I think if I'd lived in the 40s when there was more set pricing I'd been better off than the crazy shit I hear going on.