The Cellar - No Good Deed Goes Unpuniahed

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No Good Deed Goes Unpuniahed

Quote:

Three months ago, Mr. Price, 31, announced he was setting a new minimum salary of $70,000 at his Seattle credit card processing firm, Gravity Payments, and slashing his own million-dollar pay package to do it. He wasn’t thinking about the current political clamor over low wages or the growing gap between rich and poor, he said. He was just thinking of the 120 people who worked for him and, let’s be honest, a bit of free publicity. The idea struck him when a friend shared her worries about paying both her rent and student loans on a $40,000 salary. He realized a lot of his own employees earned that or less.

Yet almost overnight, a decision by one small-business man in the northwestern corner of the country became a swashbuckling blow against income inequality.

Interesting attempt to improve things. He'd probably have been better putting a one year bar on the new baseline wage - so you have to work there for a year or something to get it. Or choosing a slightly lower baseline and letting the rest come as increments.

I like the way he did it. The really scary mail box though - the one he will get the next time they need to hire someone new.