The original case of tech startups was that if you gave people a living wage (such they were comfortable), then the fact that they're not keeping up with the Jo

The original case of tech startups was that if you gave people a living wage (such they were comfortable), then the fact that they're not keeping up with the Jones's becomes meaningless, and then how they thrive is about how interesting their job is to them. This is seen, at least partially, as what drew a lot of people to the current "big tech" companies. They wanted to work on interesting problems. The pay was high, but it mattered a lot less than that the work was actually rewarding.