I agree with you, but both those points use what I call "invalid proxy metrics". If you want to reward connectedness, do that. Connectedness doesn't correlate with cost of living very much. In other words, why would an introvert employee in SF get paid more than a conference/meetup organizer and pillar of the tech community in Bangalore?
> It's basically a retention bonus: somebody living in SF is far more likely to jump ship than somebody living in Podunk Hollow
That's more reasonable, but again, the probability of jumping ship doesn't correlate with cost of living. We already give people who are likely to jump ship more money than others when we do the initial salary negotiations, this is a strict subset of that.
But they should just call a spade a spade. It's basically a retention bonus: somebody living in SF is far more likely to jump ship than somebody living in Podunk Hollow. So just practice some of that radical transparency they're claiming and say that outright.