My understanding is that this has been one of the primary concerns of InfoSec. Like IBM even ran tv ads about the dangers of payroll leaks. Nothing ruins a bu

My understanding is that this has been one of the primary concerns of InfoSec. Like IBM even ran tv ads about the dangers of payroll leaks. Nothing ruins a business faster than everyone finding out that so and so down the hall gets paid more than you do - and to think they slack off even more than you!!! How the heck is that fair??? From there if you cant get a raise you'll probably feel frustrated and taken advantage of- and want to take advantage of things in reverse, trying to do less for the same pay. Enter a race to the bottom between you and coworkers as bosses begin scrambling to decide who to let go. If you ask me the issue lies in the human inability to hold contradictions to the self and continue to act. The old payroll model requires that workers be grateful to have their labor taken advantage of. So we can move to coops where we are all paid the same, but then the question arises: why do traditional organizations beat cooperatives? In my experience coops tend to fizzle when everyone gets paid the same but a few key folks "make things happen". These people eventually feel resentment or burnout and leave for something that rewards their initiative. The coopers get left without the do-ers, and "told you so's" don't pay the orgs bills. If you think you can engineer a way for humans to know what each-other are earning, don't become demotivated, and don't succumb to burnout or resentment amongst those with initiative then you have something innovative. As for why its all hushed? Same reason other taboos in society exist: theres some sort of deeply psychologically rooted issue in play that has no happy answer, so we plaster over it in an effort to "be polite". When the foundations legitimately shift is when taboos can be reexamined, and when foundations have not actually shifted breaking taboos will rub others the wrong way. Maybe colorado is up your alley?