It's pretty equal actually. Work -> Reward. If you then go on living a life on a boat, meditate in a monastery, or enjoy hipster life in San Francisco are your choices and you pay for them accordingly. Please explain to me how one person working 5 years in the valley and retiring for the rest of the life in Philippines got "equal pay" with someone working in the Philippines from the start until they are dead.
What if I'm working for a global company based in Malaysia?
Would I be happy to be paid the regular rate of a Malaysian developer while I live in Silicon Valley? Or would I demand a higher pay? Does that mean everyone in the Malaysian office gets paid more? Does the company go under?
GitLab is in a weird position because they have workers in both. We don't chastise a local Malaysian company for paying the local rates, but we do for GitLab?
It's an unfair reality, but not an unlivable one. A cheaper lifestyle isn't necessarily a degraded one.
That still doesn't make it fair. I personally believe these global companies could step up and try to change that. But that's if it weren't about profits - which is is.
I think that's great example of why this is a difficult conversation. Global commodities are typically fixed and can be prohibitive to some localities.
Who budges? Do the global companies lower their prices or do local economies step up and pay more? Or even are they able to pay more?