In contrast, if you are a broke musician it means you aren't any good, or you are playing music nobody likes, or you live in a place where nobody cares about music.
And according to your comment 99.9% of musicians are no good and should find another job. Or else I live in a country where nobody cares about music.
Edit: I just reread the comment and thought it did sound a bit insulting.It wasn't meant to be... :-)
In many parts of the country, $15 an hour is seen as really good money for unskilled labor. But, in Silicon Valley, $15 an hour is well below the poverty line. I'm sure that works its way up the economic ladder as well. If a moving company owner can make $60-100k a year, in many parts of the country, that's considered rather wealthy. In Silicon Valley, that would probably be a lower middle class income.
Where my in-laws live, in Toledo, Ohio, there are tons of talented artists and musicians. But while there is a great supply, and no demand from wealthy music lovers to support them. So, while a relative plays in a Jazz band every weekend and packs out the club, he has to keep his day job as a small engine mechanic. The clubs just don't pay enough. It's not that people don't like his music. It's that there is no money in that part of the country for skills. It's a lot harder to pay musicians when you're charging $2 for a beer instead of $8 for a mixed drink, or $120 for dinner and drinks for two at Yoshi's in San Francisco.
I'm assuming that if he move to the Bay area, where there is a lot more demand for Jazz, he might be able to make a decent living by playing clubs.
Just my $.02
Anecdotal, I know.
In my personal experience (working as a mover for four years during college) the drivers made a good yearly take. It really depended on the driver but there were some making 200-300k in a good year