The problem with this is that it sends unpleasant signals to the other developers.<p>If the SV developer&#x27;s value to the company is the same but they get paid more, then you&#x27;re saying to all the other developers who work there, &quot;You produce enough value that we could pay you this much, but we don&#x27;t want to. We prefer to pay you less, simply because we can.&quot;<p>This is, of course, their right, but that sort of thing tends to make people unhappy, and unhappy employees tend to be unproductive, and then gone.