But generally there is no such thing as a "single" purchasing power. Some local goods may be cheaper in developing countries, but some others can be more expensive. If you don't know exactly what an employee is spending their money on, you can't really tell the purchasing power of their money. A big family with more kids may spend more money on local goods, transportation and housing, but a single person may want to just save-up 80% of their salary for a new Tesla, which costs just the same everywhere. Therefore adjusting the payouts to the local prices level will always be unfair to someone.
If one could get a Tesla at a 70% discount just because they live in a developing country, then the story would be different. But they can't.
I for one would love to be encouraged to move further out to the countryside. That's the long-term plan anyway.
The cost of life is totally irrelevant, the alternative options someone has in he market-place based on their location are. Did you look at those numbers at all?
It felt like it would be a perfect fit, based on our shared cultural values regarding remote work, transparency, open source and other technology choices.
After seeing the calculator, I decided not to interview at all, and had another remote job a few days later with more pay than I had in Boston and New York. I live in Bangkok, Thailand.