My father, with a family to support as the sole breadwinner, was a lousy negotiator. Someone who "has no family and spends" the extra time learning salary nego

My father, with a family to support as the sole breadwinner, was a lousy negotiator. Someone who "has no family and spends" the extra time learning salary negotiation can accept a higher risk of failure, would be negotiating from a stronger position. So I don't see how your examples have much bearing - the company is going to pay for what they can profit from, not what the employee needs. If my father doesn't know what comparable positions pay, he has a harder time knowing if (say) 3% pay increases per year is appropriate for his position.