This is mostly do to a 'proximity effect'. The close a business or individual is to justifying their salary, the more they are paid. It's why bankers are ofte

This is mostly do to a 'proximity effect'. The close a business or individual is to justifying their salary, the more they are paid. It's why bankers are often paid more than they are worth. This is an industrial effect: 'hardware' is moving to China, because VC doesn't like long business cycles. And so the jobs shift there etc..