in my company, we pay our most-senior engineers above-market wages, for a variety of reasons including retention, schedule demands, etc. for example, we pay a senior remote sysadmin in the south/midwest $150k. we are based in southern california where that salary would still be above-market.
the truth of the matter is even if we paid him 200 grand, his real income would probably not be as good as it was 30 years ago. our local california engineers can't afford houses+family no matter how much we pay them (within reason - assuming single income). i know people from the previous generation who own multiple houses on what were modest single incomes.
something fundamental is driving the cost component of everything through the fucking roof, without a corresponding increase in purchasing power. employers/managers can be only so generous - the dollar just isn't going as far.
in other words, the actual purchasing power is accruing at the very very top in an entirely different class of ultra-rich people. small biz owners, middle managers and employees are getting shafted even though everyone is trying their hardest to keep things on an even keel.
