A large component of pay was also "funny money" shares. You have all these companies that say they are free-cash flow "profitable" and they are still losing hun

A large component of pay was also "funny money" shares. You have all these companies that say they are free-cash flow "profitable" and they are still losing hundreds of millions in GAAP terms a quarter. That system relies on employees taking non-cash remuneration, and when share prices collapse it all falls apart. Devs are uniquely unable to understand the system they are part of because the system has had no basis in economic reality. Most of the public companies, the best of the best that VCs managed to cash out through, are going to fail (without significant changes to how they do business). And devs carry on like they are a Hollywood actor: I don't get out of bed for less than $500k/year. No-one is profitable paying the big salaries of 2021. The majority of the big salaries were due to extremely inept management at tech companies.