Ask HN: Location based pay is killing my motivation, how do others handle it?
Your pay is based on the cost to hire your replacement. That’s it. There’s no crazy conspiracies, there’s no moral failing, they’re not running a calculator of how much value you generate.
 Would it sap your motivation to learn there are people doing your same job at FAANGs making double what you make? Or that some other job makes more money than you? Location based pay is just another variable.
As with everything in jobs - if you don’t like the comp structure, it’s very rare you’ll argue them into changing it. If there are other companies who have comp structures you like more, go get a job there. If you can’t find any, you’ve probably learned something about the job market.