The value of a business isn't its wages or its immediate profits: it (over-simplified) represents a claim on the future profits. Equity grants (and especially

The value of a business isn't its wages or its immediate profits: it (over-simplified) represents a claim on the future profits. Equity grants (and especially options) aren't particularly controversial in tech, and I'm not saying they're the answer to the problem at hand. But they're a mechanism for allowing workers to share in the gain from their investment. All the problems (especially with US tax treatment of options) notwithstanding.