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Comment by ansy | Hacker News Reader

My ideal company would have a culture where people would want to work there for free. Above a certain amount, money stops contributing to real happiness. Some people have even suggested that number is as low as $60,000 in the United States. [1]

Unfortunately jobs are not the stuff we often fall in love with. Those opportunities are few and far between. But I think it is a far nobler goal to try and make more places like that than to have the most competitive salary policies.

[1] http://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_kahneman_the_riddle_of_exper... (see q&a in at the end of the transcript)

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This logic holds IFF you don't have kids or a mortgage/rent in an expensive metro that push the "real happiness" number up.

I'd agree there is a the "real happiness" number, but it's different for everyone.

The 60k is about spending. It ignores savings for retirement and insurance again the uncertain future.

So, double the number to account for those factors and geographic variance of costs, and where are you? The numbers most middle class people talk about.

I would be ok with that if the owners of such a company also worked only for the happiness and not for the profits - in which case, they would forgot any personal compensation over about 60k.

But... you and me know that there are no such business around. Even people like the Google founders claim that their major goal is job happiness, but they don't think twice before buying a huge yacht with their billions. In other words, they have just talk and no attitude.

Why do you think that employees should be happy with getting only a base salary, without raises?

60K is what, around $3500/month after taxes. If you live in NYC or SF, that's not a lot. Barely enough to get a small apartment, food, and go out once in a while, and save a little.

More like $5000. 30% effective income tax kicks in around $150k annual salary. Still, your point holds. Not retiring or having a very healthy and actualized child or three on that salary.

$5,000 * 12 = $60,000. I don't think the OP's suggestion of $42,000 a year, take-home, was too far off assuming a marginal tax rate of 25%.

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