I haven't looked for work in nearly a decade so I don't know how things are now, but I still see stories that could just by removing this stupid little game from it all.
Why can't we just start every interview by asking “on a scale from one to ten, how honest and forthright should we be with one another?”
Wouldn't it just be easier for both of us if we both took out a couple of Post-Its and wrote down the acceptable range of salary, rather than trying to mind game the other person?
“At my old job, I never once asked for a raise, and I never got bothered off the clock and I want the same here” shouldn't be a bad answer to what I want from this position.