"Q: Why are people so willing to sell out their employers?

A: Two reasons. In the confrontational style of American management, people are pitted against each other ruthlessly. There is no trust, no loyalty. Reason No. 2: Money speaks. Life in Silicon Valley is very fast, very competitive. To keep up, you have to drive a Mercedes, live in a $300,000-to-$500,000 house, have a pool in the backyard, a cabin in Lake Tahoe if you’re a ski buff, a yacht in Santa Cruz Harbor if you like to sail. You have to belong to the Decathlon Club or the Palo Alto Golf Club and send your kids to private schools like Bellarmine or St. Francis. Then there are business dinners, cocktail parties, barbecues. It all costs money."

(from http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20082780,00....)

But then the 1970s entrepreneurial revolution faltered and SV had to reboot. Between 1984 and 1992 most of the old power centers were weakened. SV could reboot, and did with the Internet companies. Similar thing happened after 2001.