I would say it is a completely underhanded way to negotiate and I love negotiating. The only good answer to that bullshit question is "The maximum you are willing to pay". Then you can start over with a real negotiation.
The best way to understand the company culture is by what is asked on the interview and what the person doing the interview is like.
This question tells you everything you need to know about the company culture and that it is not going to be a good experience.
Underhanded? Why don't you tell me what it means to you? If someone asked me what the minimum money I'm willing to take is, then I guess I might think they're the kind of company that would ask me questions like, "what's the minimum amount of RAM your program will need in production?" and stuff like that. Shrug.
The best way to understand the company culture is by what is asked on the interview and what the person doing the interview is like.
This question tells you everything you need to know about the company culture and that it is not going to be a good experience.