> What universe are we living in that a single SRE can't manage even a single rack for less than half a million in total comp?

The kind where TC isn’t measured by pod managed, but by person hired. Also the world where median rent in major metros is $3500 a month.

If you think $120k is rich, you’re either operating in the boonies, outside the USA/Canada, or incredibly out of touch with the cost of living today and need to seriously go study BLS/FRED/CPI data sets to understand how expensive it is to live right now.