I hate corporate America

My company recently posted a new position in another department. They want someone to develop, maintain operate a new system for inventory and equipment management because things have been going missing and nobody is taking responsibility. They've recently secured and separated the area where this inventory is and seem serious about investing in it, and the project seems challenging, new and fun so I applied.

Next day HR contacts me and says they won't interview me for this. As a management member who has recently successfully overhauled two areas of my own department to a lot of praise of our owner and the CEO, I was a bit taken back and pushed to find out why. Eventually they just admitted they were looking for a entry level individual making less then any other employee I know of in our company and assumed I'd never consider such a drastic pay cut. Reminder this is to develop and run a system (both computer and physical) to protect hundreds of thousands in parts and equipment.

I immediately started talking directly to their department management about how insane this is. I told them feel free to exclude my application, but that its unfair to expect that work for that pay, and that they are simply setting themselves up to fail and lose even more inventory if they are paying that price, especially an outside hire. I haven't barked up to big bosses yet, but I am seriously considering cause it just makes us look horrible, not to mention is just asking for more loss.

My company (at least my department) is usually better then this, I work here because I sleep better knowing my teams make a decent wage vs going somewhere else so I can personally get a little bit more. Its just infuriating that its next to impossible to find a job were you don't find at least a little of this scumbaggery. Asking a trained professional to help protect your wealth for the same pay as what the Arbys across the street is hiring line cooks for (according to their window posting) is just ludicrous.