We’ve turned into a Hive, things are getting serious.

It's like a joke, but it's true in real life. A job that requires long training, some intelligence, and talent is valued as a job that requires nothing but not being mentally retarded or disabled. And all because a bunch of assholes who have a computer decided to jump in and undercut prices.

I'm not sure if I understood you correctly, but I'll share my personal understanding.

I can't even imagine the possibility of undercutting in this situation, and I don't think these people are to blame.
The only one to blame is aggressive marketing. There are a lot of low-quality courses that create false expectations and overheat the junior market. It's bad for everyone, both for the workers and for the employers, who waste a lot of time trying to find the right person in this sea of applicants.
And what is undercutting like? I can only imagine two scenarios, and I don't see it in either of them. Either the company is looking for someone to replace someone who has left. This is already a certain rate or salary range, and it doesn't actually depend on the applicant's wishes. The second option is a new vacancy. And what in this case? The logic is, "Well, there are plenty of juniors, so we'll set a low rate"? No, of course not. The main goal is not to save money, but to find a specialist who will work well.

And here's another point. The initial selection is done by technical specialists, who are not allowed to discuss salary expectations at all. The applicant cannot undercut at this stage. They can only show their skills. It is only then that they may be rejected due to high requirements if the company is not willing to offer such a salary, and that's it.

And the fact that people without experience are willing to consider a low salary in order to get their foot in the door is, in my opinion, a perfectly normal situation, both now and 10 years ago. I would do the same myself.