I struggle with this issue every day (just selected a postdoc.) There are tons of smart, educated, hard working, passionate scientists. Why is that? I think because we just plain like it. Low pay sucks. But, most of us probably would not work in a coal mine for $80K.
So, working in a coal mine "isn't right." Being a postdoc is just not ideal.
The vast majority of the post-docs and grad students that I know hate the lifestyle, but have irrational hopes for success. They'd never put up with the hours and the low pay, if they could internalize the odds of failure.
Anyway, I wouldn't be so flippant about coal mining: miners get paid about the same as post-docs ($40k, usually in cheap parts of the country; google it) for well-regulated 40-hour weeks.
So, working in a coal mine "isn't right." Being a postdoc is just not ideal.