"I'm not sure why the article is so obsessed with this "six-figure salary" thing"
Because people ascribe meaning to "large numbers" that are unmoored from the actual objective context and meaning of those numbers.
See also: people's penchant for using totals, sometimes even lifetime totals, to argue that certain projects (public or private) are too expensive/boondoggles/etc. They ought to be looking at ROI, rates, per-capita-rates even -- but they don't. Because they know the audience has attached emotional meaning to "millions" and "billions".
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Because people ascribe meaning to "large numbers" that are unmoored from the actual objective context and meaning of those numbers.
See also: people's penchant for using totals, sometimes even lifetime totals, to argue that certain projects (public or private) are too expensive/boondoggles/etc. They ought to be looking at ROI, rates, per-capita-rates even -- but they don't. Because they know the audience has attached emotional meaning to "millions" and "billions".