Minimum wage workers shouldn't complain about their job, at least they are protected by the government to always get paid

Freelancers I know have signed contracts spelling out everything …maybe a thought for next time

Freelancers do make agreements with their clients but more often than not, they don't actually get paid by their clients despite what was agreed upon in the first place. Labor rights protections only apply to actual employees of companies and not freelancers, government can't force a client to pay the freelancer so clients always get away with not paying freelancers with no government to stop them.

I have been a freelancer since 1989 and I can only remember 2 times I did not get paid the full amount. If you’re not getting paid the full amount that was decided and contractually agreed upon, I’m thinking there’s more to the story

There are plenty of freelancers who don't get paid at all and their clients give them a lot of arguments about paying and try to chisel them for a cheaper price than what the freelancer charges for the work. You might have almost never had trouble with clients not paying but you are the exception. Just because you were lucky to almost never get trouble from clients working as a freelancer doesn't change the fact that non-paying clients are a very common problem with almost every other freelancer out there.

So do you ever do work for them a second time?

The guy on the right must have do e some work for Donald Trump. He has a history of stiffing folks every chance he gets.

I know, Trump is notorious for that. A lot of people accuse socialists of wanting stuff for free without paying anything in return but businessmen (not only Trump) are notorious for that.