Joel give a stupid Upside columnist a piece of his mind about employee benefits. If you’re a technology executive and you’re reading my page (something that’s pretty unlikely, no doubt) the takeaway is this: talent is scarce (and therefore expensive). You have to suck up to smart people these days if you want them to come work for you, and you have to treat them like they’re important to get them to stay. (By the way, if you’re a Java programmer and you want to work for a cool company in Raleigh, NC, send me a note.)