This is consistent with my bias that FAANG salaries are where they are to discourage developers from accepting equity stakes at start-ups that could eventually

This is consistent with my bias that FAANG salaries are where they are to discourage developers from accepting equity stakes at start-ups that could eventually disrupt the FAANG companies - that these salaries exist to starve the start-up ecosystem. I have no evidence of this, and I have no reason for my priors to be set like this, but I do love bias confirmation.