My job still issues 16GB laptops as standard. You need a business reason to get more. This has been going on since before the price hikes.
I’m a system administrator and I can do my job with no issues at 16GB. Most days 8GB would likely be enough, since I’m just using and abusing other systems anyway.
Java devs at my last job were still running 16GB in 2020. Admittedly that was a while ago. Still not a decade.
Close some Chrome tabs?