I think he was trying to say that they're liquid, so it's not like vc/private equity where you're locked out of the game until you're rich.

Employees are paid in stock. New stock is issued regularly for them.

That's a very SV view.

1% of US-based companies are publicly traded. And publicly trader companies only make up about 1/3 of national employment.

> 1% of US-based companies are publicly traded.

Well, let's broaden the scope a bit then. Beyond simply issuing new shares, you can found a new company. This happens a lot, outside the bay, you just don't hear or think about it unless it's a VC backed firm hoping to make it huge. When it's a sole proprietorship, crickets. Perhaps this is fine, but there are different modes of ownership across the country.

“Employees are paid in stock”

This is not true for the vast majority of employees and is a bit out of touch.

It is still limited.