I've heard that's the policy of Basecamp as well. It's a more equitable solution by far than these other companies, enabling the employee's strategic selection of their place of residence.

Compensation models at Gitlab & Buffer strike me as being creepily paternalistic in pursuit of some misunderstanding of egalitarianism. Who wants to work for a company that's keeping tabs on where you live to make sure you don't get too far ahead of your peers?? Sounds like something out of a digital age Atlas Shrugged.