> In the first case they are paid the same as someone with a higher title, and when promoted inevitably they will be paid more than someone with the same title.

> In the first case they are paid the same as someone with a higher title, and when promoted inevitably they will be paid more than someone with the same title. You act like promotions are automatic, but you're ignoring case where they never get promoted, and can't leverage their resume nearly as effectively because of the lower title. In which case, all they got was a temporary pay bump in exchange for doing extra work, but didn't get any credit for that work.