I’ve worked for my organization for several years now, about an equal number pre- and post-covid. While the organization faced pressures due to covid, my program almost doubled in size and I carried the weight of the growth, often working excessive supplemental hours and with no salary increase. We were passed up for cost of living increases in 2020 and 2021 and received only a modest increase in 2022 (less than half of inflation). The narrative is, as in politics, always the same: “we don’t have money for that.” Yet there is money for expensive remodels, advertising/marketing, security measures, new infrastructure and executive pay increases (just as with government there is never money for universal healthcare or education but always money for war). We have recently made room in my departmental budget for new staff and the new staff pay range, for a lower level position, is more than my current salary. This has been a problem in the organization for years, new hires in entry level roles sometimes earning two times what existing employees are earning. What is the best way to handle this sort of problem when the narrative never changes? Is looking for a better job the only practical choice?