A lot of people are asking "why would they pay less" and that seems like a silly question to me. They'd pay less because of course they would. Less money spent

A lot of people are asking "why would they pay less" and that seems like a silly question to me. They'd pay less because of course they would. Less money spent is less money spent. The real question is "why would they pay more?" It's not charity. I'm sure the company would be much happier to pay a livable wage in rural Kentucky. But for a livable in rural Kentucky wouldn't pay for rent and food at the same time in SF or NYC, and up until somewhat recently you needed all of your workers to live in the same place, which meant a high population density, and proximity to where everyone else is, because all of the talent was migrating to the same place.