It&#x27;s usually about ego. It&#x27;s not always bad people who have big egos. Sometimes good people have a large ego too.<p>Consider the person who was told at 5 years old by his parents that he&#x27;ll never be as good as his classmates. In school, they were told the same - by teachers, bullies, other authority figures that they&#x27;ll be worthless unless they do something a certain way. Sometimes good people get pressured into this by friends, spouses, in-laws.<p>Such a kind of person would be eager to prove others wrong. This is the kind of person who chases &#x27;success&#x27;.<p>They&#x27;ll want to prove they are successful as a form of revenge or a way of impressing the in-laws. Buying expensive cars is the most obvious way. Or suits. Clothes. Houses.<p>Sometimes there&#x27;s insecurity and self-doubt. Everyone wants to improve, but the line for improvement is really vague. So they make it relative - compare progress to someone else rather than anchoring it to something solid, like savings.<p>To many of these people, narrowing the minimum wage bar would be frustrating as it proves that they are hovering on the minimum line.