This question was pointedly directed at the community, not HN moderators, employees, or officers. I do not feel it violates the guidelines.
There isn't any particular connection between how YC hires for its teams internally and what the HN community thinks or feels about such things. Both are perfectly valid questions, but they're unrelated.
That is why you now see businesses advertising pay such as “up to $x per hour”. It is because those businesses have lost a little negotiating power due to shifts in labor supply.
Personally, I am waiting for signs that say “starting at $x”. That will really mean labor’s negotiating position has improved.