Google echoes real life

Thanks to SEC filings it seems that Google employees are getting a glimpse of who is worth what in their company. Previously limited to the executive level, such disclosures are reaching down to the rank and file Google employees. So now hundreds of the employee planned stock sales are appearing in public and hence lots of Google employees now know at least how much their cubicle buddies are worth. Those recent hires who didn't have years to accumulate generous stock handouts are apparently feeling a little tension from the wealth inequity.

I think someone should go to Google and study this effect in detail, it might provide a fascinating glimpse of how the world at large would be if we all knew the wealth, or lack thereof, of our neighbors. I once had occasion to find out the salary and stock grants of every employee in a company I previously worked for (no I wasn't hacking into the finance computers, it was by legitimate means) and I can tell you it was an "enlightening" experience. Think how society would be if everyone knew the wealth and income of everyone else. I think the stark inequity of wealth and income distribution in this country would be thrown into sharp relief and could wreck some havoc. Yes the statistics are there for all to read should they bother, but if you were confronted with this information day in and day out it might rub it in.

There is an argument frequently made by some people about privacy and disclosure of personal information - that what is the harm in it because if you haven't got anything to hide then you shouldn't have anything to worry about. I wonder then why they isn't applied to information about wealth in this country. Those with most to hide seem most interested in hiding that information, something we are frequently reminded of when the wealthy manage to find their way into top positions that require the most disclosure of financial information. What is driving that desire to disclose as little as possible, do they have something to be ashamed of? Gentlemen, why don't you just revel in your wealth and show the world what good you have put it to??? Yeah, as if... :-)