Show HN: How much profit does your employer make per employee?
This Show HN introduces 'Your Fair Share,' a tool that calculates the hypothetical profit your employer makes per employee using public SEC filings. It aims to make abstract corporate profits tangible by showing what an equal share could mean for an individual's salary. The site sparks immediate debate on economic theories and corporate compensation structures, prompting users to reconsider what constitutes 'fair' pay.
The Lowdown
The 'Your Fair Share' project is a web tool designed to make the abstract concept of corporate profit more concrete for individual employees. Users input their US-listed employer's name or ticker symbol and their own compensation, and the site calculates a hypothetical 'profit per employee' figure based on publicly available financial data. The tool then visualizes how an equal share of this profit could impact an individual's salary, serving as a catalyst for deeper thought on compensation.
- The tool fetches net income and headcount data from SEC 10-K filings for US-listed public companies.
- It calculates a theoretical 'equal share' of profit per employee, showing what one's salary would look like with this hypothetical addition.
- Users can browse approximately 940 companies, ranked by profit per employee, or explore data by industry, with breakdowns including buybacks and dividends per worker.
- The author clarifies that the net income used is reported profit (after taxes and accounting) and not 'hidden,' and the equal split is purely a hypothetical simplification, not a proposed compensation model.
- The site is static, does not collect or store salary information, and the author has verified data for many companies, offering a feedback mechanism for accuracy.
The project's core intent is not to dictate what a 'fair share' is, but to provide a quantifiable perspective on corporate profitability per employee, thereby stimulating critical conversations about value generation, compensation structures, and economic equity.
The Gossip
Labor Value Legitimization
Discussion quickly delved into the economic underpinnings of the tool, with some questioning the relevance of the 'labor theory of value.' The author clarified that the tool's 'equal split' is a hypothetical thought experiment, intended to make abstract corporate profits relatable on a per-employee basis and stimulate inquiry into how value is generated and distributed beyond traditional compensation models.
Provocative Project Pitfalls
The creator noted the initial flagging of the post, attributing it partially to their newness on HN and the provocative title 'Your Fair Share.' Commenters suggested that the tool's nature, which encourages workers to question their compensation and corporate profit distribution, might be seen as challenging established economic norms and thus prone to being 'flagged into oblivion' by those resistant to such 'thoughts above their station.'