What is going on with the latest bombardment of salary posts?

It’s clear that if you ask for a 20% raise you’ll get laughed out of office in most settings, yet this community seems to perpetuate that as everyday reality.

The labor market is tight because of COVID, but it is not that tight. Certain fields have seen a significant increase in labor demand while others have not.

I did some “research” and here is what I found:

• When some people mention income they are adding in investment income/rental income

• Certain commission based positions have seen a tremendously high commission year. That is not a “stable” salary

• Some people add in household income and don’t mention it as such

• People flat out lie

Tech had seen a salary growth of about 6 to 8%. But “be wary of the I got a $50k increase bunch”.

Edit:

Someone mentioned more remote based US jobs. That is definitely a factor.