> I disagree. I'm aware that that's the general opinion, but no, this isn't strictly true. A company can be interested in treating its employees well, and being

> I disagree. I'm aware that that's the general opinion, but no, this isn't strictly true. A company can be interested in treating its employees well, and being upfront with them about pay is, to many, a comparative advantage (especially if the pay is also competitive). We'll have to agree to disagree here. And I'm afraid it's not an "opinion" but a fundamental fact due to the structure. I'm not saying companies are not or can not treat their employees well - they absolutely can and do. But a company is interested in treating its employees well as a strategy to be competitive against other competitors when acquiring and retaining talent is more important, and they can only do so while they are competitive. Once that changes for whatever reason, they will have no choice but to stop treating their employees as well. That's just the economic reality. This economic expansion in Silicon Valley lasted so long, and the demand for software engineers have been high enough for long enough, that I've seen young folks like you who have no idea what a true downturn can do, and I'm afraid you are one of those youngsters with a rose-tinted fantasy view of the economic system.