I guess if you are a remote friendly employer, you'd want to avoid both cutting yourself off from talent that happens to live in a high-cost area and getting completely overrun by applications from low-cost areas. And that could be reason enough even before applying the most obvious rule of acquisition, "don't pay more than you need".

But yeah, the outcome, remoters from Cheaptown effectively subsidizing their coworkers from Glitter City is incredibly ugly. One should at least hope that the decisionmaking processes at the employer do not completely isolate the one deciding on a hire from the cost difference, so that flyover guy could at least enjoy an increased chance of getting the job.

"From each according to his ability, to each according to his need" is a bad principle to run both countries and companies.

Why should we run countries like companies?

That was never said, we obviously shouldn't.

Finding something that applies to both (Or in this case something that works in neither, which makes it even clearer) is not the same as treating both as requiring the same solutions.

What is the advantage to the company in hiring remote workers then?

You want your cake and to eat it too?

Access to talent in locations where there aren't offices + access to talent who only work remotely.

So you seem to think a Bay Area company should pay it's remote workers Bay Area money. That'd be lovely, but we should explore what it infers. Let's assume that Gitlab will open a Mumbai office in a month's time. Would you expect the people there to get typical Mumbai wages, or typical Bay Area wages?

Assuming you don't think it's Bay Area wages (because that's crazy), why do you think going to an office in your location means you ought to be paid a lot less?

Some of us get Bay Area salary in hyderabad and bangalore. Why should we not get bay area salary when we deliver the same or better. I have no control over my cost of living but i do control what i will work for. No matter where.

Getting the best staff and not having to provide an office?

Not having to deal with operating a physical office (beyond the bare minimum necessary to e.g. be served with a subpoena)?