I don't think your point makes sense here at all. ""I'll need to get approval/budget from higher up and they're going to ask me why." My boss should be able t

I don't think your point makes sense here at all. ""I'll need to get approval/budget from higher up and they're going to ask me why." My boss should be able to answer this, and he shouldn't need to hear it from me. We work together every day. If he needs me to give him a list of reasons why I deserve a raise and doesn't already understand those reasons, he's simply not a good boss. Also, fwiw, this person was the CEO, so they didn't need to get approval.