> It's partly because a 20% raise isn't a 20% raise. Even at the most modest tax bracket (above poverty) that will be reduced down to 17%.

That's just not true.

To come up with an example of 17%, I have to plug in numbers that put you above the tax limit for social security, assume that tax brackets weren't modified by inflation (they are supposed to be), and put you right at the cusp before the next large jump tax bracket. So from 197,300 to that plus 20%. And even then, it's more than a 17% raise unless you are in California, where it's a 16% raise.

But that's again a very contrived example. In most cases, it's a full 20% raise.

> A 20% (ignoring taxes) raise when your take home pay is $3000 disappears very quickly into your $6000 credit card debt, or maybe your $700/month car loan, or your $400/month student loans

Except inflation makes loans cheaper. You get a raise. The principle stays the same. If inflation and your salary both go up by 20%, that's mathematically equivalent to a 16% reduction in your debt. So your credit card debt becomes the equivalent of $5,000, etc.