If The Price is Right, Buy It

Who knew credit card payment processing could be sexy? Last week, the CEO of Seattle-based company Gravity did the unthinkable – he announced he will be taking a pay cut, and not a minor one at that. Dan Price will purportedly be slashing his own $1 million salary to give pay raises to all his 70 employees. Over the next three years, the lucky workers at Gravity will see their own $48,000 (the mean) salaries get a bump to a new minimum of $70,000.
Depending where you are in your own career/life, you may or may not agree with this. If you are part of the 1 percent, $70,000 may sound like a pittance. If you work three part-time jobs and are just barely getting by, it may sound like a dream come true. Whatever your situation, you don’t work for Gravity. And my guess is your employer is not going to be following Price’s lead if it means the rich actually don’t get richer, for a change.
“If it’s a publicity stunt, it’s a costly one,” wrote Patricia Cohen of The New York Times. Personally, I have to believe Price when he says his decision to redistribute the company’s wealth came from an epiphany he had upon reading an article about happiness. The article revealed that, “for people who earn less than about $70,000, extra money makes a big difference in their lives.” Holy bombshell! Extra money makes a difference. Who knew? I don’t mean to be glib, but come on.
So there are now 70 much happier people in Seattle. Hey, it still rains there more often than it doesn’t. Don’t get too excited. You’ll have a little extra money to buy bigger umbrellas and more venti coffees. Or will you? I guarantee you won’t like that new tax bracket. Just hand it over in a sack, that man mugging you in an alley isn’t entirely unrecognizable. The black mask may hide his face, but you’d know Uncle Sam’s pants anywhere.
Don’t let Price’s dashing good looks fool you. Though he exudes a long-haired, bearded, mountain man Brad Pitt vibe, shave three quarters of his head and four fifths of his beard and you will find Lenin himself staring back at you. I don’t mean to imply that Gravity is a communist company… but I’m not not implying that either. Should we be applauding this?
Actually, to be fair, the announcement was that no employee at Gravity will be making less than $70,000 after three years’ time. Price didn’t say everyone would be making the same salary. That figure is just the base. And the fact that the CEO is cutting his own wages by an astronomical amount is pretty admirable. If it is what he says it is, we shouldn’t make fun. The guy is doing a solid for the people who work for him and his company will probably improve because of it. No doubt, if nothing else, morale will. But is there yet another side to consider?
What about the inevitable flood of resumes Gravity is bound to receive in the coming days/weeks/months/years? There are so many unemployed people in our country (3.9 percent in Seattle as of December 2014) and many are overqualified for positions they seek. Will Price remain loyal to his staff when more and more superstars come knocking at his door, asking for work?
His company is now in the spotlight and anyone who has a mind and a knack for that kind of work is going to double-down their efforts to get in. If I were a current employee there, I’d be nervous. I’d hide my gold under a bridge somewhere and concentrate on giving well over 110 percent. Yes, that’s mathematically impossible but you’d have to find a way wouldn’t you? Because there’s someone lurking right behind you ready to pounce and move right on in to your cubicle, should you make the slightest mistake. But then again, that’s probably true anywhere.
In today’s world, you really can’t do a nice thing without being scrutinized, can you? Here we have a successful young man giving up a boat load of cash because he believes in the importance of his workers’ happiness and well-being, and here we are staring him down, asking, “What’s your real endgame, bub?” It’s kind of a shame, isn’t it? Are we that untrustworthy of a society? I’d like to think not. If the price is right, buy it.