To be clear, slaves were never paid in any form. They were taken from their homes, shipped overseas in horrific conditions and forced to do whatever their masters wished upon the threat of their lives or the lives of their family members. They were beaten, raped, experimented on. They lived in filthy conditions and were give the bare minimum to eat and drink, enough to keep them alive and working, but not enough so they could become strong enough to revolt. While I agree that our current capitalist system is exploitative and deliberately holds many people in poverty, making this comparison minimizes the horrors that actual slaves endured.