Antiwork - Asking too much for too little, way, way too little

Having a "pays up to" wage is bad because there's no reason not to pay you the least possible. If you work hard your employer can just make the excuse you didn't do enough to earn a higher wage and there's nothing you can do to change that. Discretionary pay just enables horrible business practices and if you have a master's degree you ought to know there's better options out there.