Great advice from this fellow.

 

 

My comments - 

 

Dude, you are saying a lot more than your realize. What you describe as the 'perceived autonomy' in salary negotiations, is an apt metaphor for US Crapitalism and the voter. By limiting any discussion around elections to MAGA Red or Blue-No-Matter-Who, people are propagandized by the legacy media into believing those are the only choices.

Crapitalism is the illusion of democracy. Voters are given (and limited to) two non-choices (blue and red) which - both conveniently and remarkably - work out amazingly well for the 1%.

And your advice is superb. You either turns the tables (i.e. 're-frame the negotiations') or walk away seeking what you need from a less-scrupulous employer.

It's a very tough thing to do however - especially when the threats of job loss are looming everywhere. The system certainly exploits your need to eat, sleep, etc where those things and more cost money. And employers certainly like to exploit people, especially when they haven't worked in awhile - having a reserve of unemployed people out there serves to lower salaries, but also can be used as a threat to existing employees to not demand more (or unionize, or strike). But it's only when you realize it's a rigged situation can you really turns things around for yourself. Same thing for crapitalism - things will only change for the better when enough people realized they've been conned by the employer class for all this time.