> I do wonder how much of this taboo has been cultivated by corporations that benefit from workers feeling like they shouldn't talk about salary. I don't know

> I do wonder how much of this taboo has been cultivated by corporations that benefit from workers feeling like they shouldn't talk about salary. I don't know if corporations originated the taboo, but they absolutely cultivate it so that they can retain the upper hand in salary negotiation, enabling them to pay below-market wages to everyone except for new hires with multiple offers. There is an unfortunate cultural problem where people are morally valued by how much money they make. Pay is often very disconnected from economic benefit (consider the enormous economic value produced by underpaid teachers, or grad student researchers) and nothing to do with moral value.