100% absolutely agreed. You're paying me for the work I can do for you. If someone else on the team with the same role and JD as me, gets paid more while you expect the _same level of work_ from us both, that's bullshit. Admit then you the company are paying less because you want the cheaper labor and don't complain when I put in less effort thsn the other person you're paying more. Paid for effort and knowledge, not the goddamn city I live in. If it's the same job, it should pay the same wage. Period.

This is likely correct in the long run and it means software engineering compensation will be dropping significantly in the next decade.

This line has been repeated ad nauseum but I have never seen any backing data. Why would salaries decrease? Software development, done well, is a highly technical craft. Maybe for the first rung of developers it'll go way down but those Staff/Senior Staff I would expect to still command large salaries.

This is the “eat it too” aspect which a lot of other threads here seem to be ignoring.