[diafygi]

I work in energy, and there's a big debate raging now about the externalities of fossil fuels. People working for the fossil industry make substantial salaries because their industry is not adequately taxed for the externalities their products are causing. If the fossil industries were properly taxed for externalities, my guess would be that salaries would be significantly affected.

Perhaps we should consider fintech and adtech to be similar scenarios? Fintech seems to have externalities that lead to ever growing income inequality. Adtech definitely has externalities on society in the form of increased susceptibility to foreign propaganda and mass surveillance.

I suspect the higher salaries in fintech and adtech are similarly inflated to fossil industry salaries due to the lack of taxing externalities.

[ForHackernews]

Why would higher industry-specific taxes lower salaries in that industry?