I mean I think that people will survive. I would think with 150% pay one should be able to stay up to date, and I think that the non-compete would be a reasonab

I mean I think that people will survive. I would think with 150% pay one should be able to stay up to date, and I think that the non-compete would be a reasonable explanation for the gap. If you offered for friends 150% of their pay to not work for a year, how many would say yes? Go get a master's degree, travel the world, write OSS, etc. I bet 90%+. I don't even think that you'd have to limit it to competitors in this case either - it could be a blanket "we have the option to bench you for up to a year" clause. I think that if non-competes were paid at a multiple like this, companies would think very hard before enforcing them, and it would work out to the employee's advantage.