[adastra22]

The better question is why doesn't the free market lower Silicon Valley pay to be comparable to the rest of the world. SV is the outlier. Even other forms of engineering don't pay compensation anywhere near what SV software devs get.

[hn_throwaway_99]

In winner-take-nearly-all industries, it makes sense to pay top dollar for talent if that gives you a better chance of being "the winner".