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Comment by rmk | Hacker News Reader

I think the more relevant part is that people have realized that harder work does not necessarily pay better or lead to advancement. Companies can win markets while not paying their employees top dollar, and this fact is now clear to most if not all.

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If your company's costs are significantly larger than your competitors, you aren't going to win markets. You're going bankrupt.

> harder work does not necessarily pay better or lead to advancement

Smarter work does, though.

No, smarter work doesn't either. Increased productivity does not necessarily lead to better pay or advancement.

> Increased productivity does not necessarily lead to better pay or advancement

In a free market, supply&demand set employee compensation at about 85% of the value the employee produces.

The reason is simple. If the company overpays, the company goes bust. If the company underpays, his competitor will hire the person away.

If you believe you're underpaid, make your case to your employer. If he agrees, good for you. If he doesn't, and you're not convinced, quit and work for his competitor.

Unless your industry is a monopoly because one company ate all the others and is actively sabotaging new competitors by buying them off before they can grow.

> is actively sabotaging new competitors by buying them off before they can grow

The thing to do then is keep founding competitors and make a profit selling them to the "monopoly".

P.S. buying a company is not "sabotaging" it. LOL

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