Below the Fold - is moving worth a 25% pay cut?

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Meet the woman who has Big Tech scared: Lina Khan. The 32-year-old recently became the youngest person in history to be appointed chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), responsible for enforcing antitrust laws within the technology industry. Khan’s past criticism for the industry — which has been operating with unchecked power for years — has companies such as Facebook and Amazon requesting she withdraw from any investigations involving them.

COMPENSATION

Google’s internal calculator determines pay cuts for remote workers
Tue Aug 10

Is it fair if your colleagues get paid the same but live somewhere way cheaper? Tech companies can’t seem to agree. While Reddit and Zillow have promised no change in worker salaries, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are considering otherwise. In fact, Google recently introduced an internal pay calculator that determines how much employees will be paid depending on where they choose to work. While those living in major metropolitan areas are likely to see no change, that’s not the case for those in suburbs working from home:

15% cuts to salaries are expected for employees forgoing the hour commute from Stamford, Connecticut to Google’s Manhattan offices.
A massive 25% cut is likely for Googlers who left San Francisco for Lake Tahoe, despite it being another expensive area of California.

Non-tech workers in American suburbs are hoping other companies follow Google’s lead. Data pulled from LinkedIn earlier this year showed how the pandemic upended the need for tech workers to be clustered around San Francisco. Those tech workers instead flocked to cities like Austin, Nashville, and Charlotte, driving up housing demand and pricing out the locals. In fact, out-of-towners paid an average of 7.8% above asking price for homes — one seller in a suburban area of Washington, D.C. said she got a record of 88 offers for a single house, with more than 80% in all cash.

Others question why Google would cut salaries given remote employees save the company money on office space, food, and more. Google argues their compensation packages have always been determined by location, but one sociology professor says if they could historically afford to pay those salaries, they should be able to continue to do so. Google's pay calculator also relies on census data, which some worry is not an accurate representation of U.S. cities.

Our Sources:

→ Initial coverage: N ew York Post
→ LinkedIn data on tech worker migration: Bloomberg
→ Suburban housing market spikes: CNN
→ Out-of-town buyers pay more: Culture Map Austin
→ Why census data may be wrong: Bloomberg

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HUMAN RIGHTS

China may be operating secret prisons outside the country
Mon Aug 16

China may be operating a secret jail in Dubai, according to one woman who claims she was detained at a converted villa alongside two Uyghur prisoners. While China denies the accusation, the 26-year-old says she was abducted from her hotel, held for over a week in Dubai, and forced to sign legal documents incriminating her fiancé for harassing her. Her fiancé is being sought out by the Chinese government for openly opposing the country’s official policies.

If her claims are true, the site would be the first evidence that China is operating black sites outside its borders. A military term, black sites are essentially secret jails often known for torturing prisoners. The U.S. has been running CIA-operated black sites following 9/11 as a part of their fight against the “war on terror.” The gruesome interrogation tactics used were shared last year when an American psychologist said he’d force prisoners to stand through sleep deprivation, slap them repeatedly into a wall, and even waterboard them repeatedly. A Supreme Court case is now exploring whether the location of such sites should remain confidential. Regardless of the outcome, it’s difficult to determine the future of black sites as jurisdiction can be questionable and governments worry over political and economic relationships. Still, hope lies in how other governments act against aggressors.

Though current condemnations are shaping up to be inadequate in China’s case, especially when it comes to Uyghurs, the Chinese Muslim minority being held in camps and subjected to torture, starvation, rape, and more. In fact, there have been a number of reports on China seizing overseas Uyghurs fleeing for refuge.

In June, lawyers for Uyghur exiles found that such abductions shrunk the Uyghur community in neighboring Tajikistan from 3,000 to just 100 people.
The legal team showed a similar trend in Cambodia and had presented both to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in a plea to open an investigation against senior Chinese officials. Previously, attempts to open an investigation were denied due to lack of evidence around jurisdiction.
And in July, Moroccan authorities arrested a Uyghur activist at China’s request . The 33-year-old had initially fled Turkey after being arrested repeatedly for working on a Uyghur diaspora newspaper online.
And any Uyghur activists safely overseas still risk their families back in China. One Uyghur exile living in Washington, D.C. even broke up with her boyfriend after her family at home started being harassed for information on his budding Uyghur rights organization.

Our Sources:

→ Initial coverage: Sky News and Associated Press
→ China seizing Uyghurs abroad: Guardian and New York Times
→ America’s gruesome black sites: Washington Post and Amnesty International
→ Supreme Court case on keeping black sites a secret: USA Today
→ ICC denial to investigate: ETGE and Washington Examiner
→ New evidence presented to ICC: The Times and Reuters

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ASCII-ING ABOUT THE NEWS

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So because I moved back home my pay will be cut?

That about sums it up.



Art Credit: Below the Fold

Below the Fold

2261 Market St # 4135

San Francisco, CA 94114-1612

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Below the Fold - is moving worth a 25% pay cut?

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