[cdcarter]

> Did they look at alternatives - issuing more equity, special dividend, more generous bonuses??

Well it seems he specifically wanted to increase salary compensation, but I can bet that any organization making a choice this big went so far as to consider alternatives.

Paying your staff seems like a very good reinvestment of profit. In fact, it may well be what will allow them to pull ahead of their competition!

The biggest problem I see with this plan is not increased payroll tax but increased HR costs to weed through the many more job apps they're going to get these days.