It barely explains the full situation, but I feel like in the US we have lifestyle expectations (which is more than just money) that go with our education and career choices. This puts a virtual boundary on where you'll be able to get talent to go. (Relating it to our common experience, there's a reason why San Francisco or Austin is a much more attractive city for developers than Houston)
I'd almost say that the lifestyle expectations come first. I care about getting paid a lot primarily because high pay is necessary to live somewhere like San Francisco/Austin/NYC.
