#3 (mediocre work after an effective pay cut) doesn't sound at all unreasonable. In effect those people are getting a pay cut and decided that investing effort

#3 (mediocre work after an effective pay cut) doesn't sound at all unreasonable. In effect those people are getting a pay cut and decided that investing effort to be "top-notch" is not justified. They're doing a mediocre job - by definition middle, not low quality. The author tries to paint this in a very bad light but I think this is a mentality of "it's bad because someone else does it". For some of those people the issue is not financial but one of respect. A little spit in their eye is still spit in their eye. What's a reasonable amount to cut from an agreed payment while still expecting top notch quality? How much does the author like to give up in such conditions?