> There’s an aversion to calculating wages based on local rent, food, and gas prices that I haven’t found an explanation for.

If this is a recent development, I would say that it's just inertia against inflation. Are you saying this has been happening more than the past couple years?

From my perspective it’s post-pandemic behavior, but I’m just one set of eyeballs.

Inflation inertia seems reasonable but this is back of the envelope math most businesses do as a matter of course.

Everyone is trying to get someone else to eat the inflation.