Comment by lotsofpulp

> If you are leaving a place because of bad pay or just that you want to make more money the discussion was always tethered around your previous pay.

The employer wanted you to think that, but it was actually tethered around your other job offers and your willingness to say no.

If you have access to information for what other employers are paying, and are potential other options for your employment, the employer will know you know this.

More importantly, you will not have to waste your valuable time figuring out what other employers are paying, so you have to do less work to figure out the market.

The employer most likely already knows the market, that is part of their daily duties, and know that applicants have to do a lot of work to figure out the market. Hence trying to use people’s previous pay to lowball them, since they know that people only know that.