[Bonaparte]

"Charging less does not mean more work. It just means you work harder for the same money."

If a prostitute charges $40 for a BJ and can serve up as many as 36 of them in a 6 hour period, she potentially makes $1440 in a 6-hour period of time.

36 customers X $40 = $1440

If another prostitute charges only $20 for a BJ and also works a "6-hour shift," she must serve twice as many customers per hour in order to make the same money.

72 customers X $20 = $1440

The second prostitute has worked harder for the same money.

[Willie Green]

The second prostitute has worked harder for the same money.

But the quality of the service has diminished from 10 minutes each to only 5.

[weegee]

She's going to find more "Johns" at $20 than she will at $40 (actually $100). She may have had to stand on the corner for 8 hours to make that kind of money (how many hours were spent just waiting for a John with money to come by?).

You also forget that quite often they are addicts. They work long enough to get a fix and maybe some food. They don't do this because it is a glamorous lifestyle or because they are nymphos.

I doubt that they are pulling thousands in a day on the street. Likely, they used to be able to get enough money after 2 or 3 tricks and now they must work longer to get the same money for a fix/rent/etc.