The "hot" companies of the Bay Area (like Google, Facebook, Apple and others) already pay pretty significant salaries (100k/year for an entry-level dev, fresh college graduate; it goes beyond that, I know a few developers making 150-170k/year). How much more would they have to pay, before we can admit that money isn't the issue? (Keep in mind I'm only making this case for the top companies hiring rockstar developers, which numerically look like a minority).