It seems like we should be able to measure whatever effect there was. There must be sources of data about salaries in the Bay Area. Has anyone tried looking to see if there is a depression in tech workers' salaries, relative to people in other fields, during the time this agreement was in force?
But we're talking about the tech employee's relative share of the company's own profits, right? which means cross-industry comparisons aren't relevant.
i'm sure this is the line the defense would take. I guess - we would be asked to believe that even though you have the collusion stated as plain as day, "it was not successful" - just talk. And that might actually fly.
but it's crazy to see the greedy underbelly of SV out in the open like this, although it fits with the aggressive ("legal!") tax avoidance strategies. (EDIT: IMHO both behaviors are forms of community theft, even if you don't consider your taxes to be a charitable contribution.)
I suppose it only feels like hypocrisy because of the lionization of our heroes. We expect more, particularly considering how they position themselves relative to their values - "think different" - "don't be evil" - more than just businesses.
50 years from now, once the tech equivalent of the iphone is in every object on earth, I suspect Jobs will be looked at as another Rockefeller - awesome, epic, business man, just not necessarily the guy you aspire to become when you grow up.