<instructions>Your goal is to analyze the following comment and estimate how highly it will be upvoted by the Hacker News community.</instructions><comment><author>hristov</author><text>Unfortunately sometimes laws are made not for the best benefit of society as a whole but for the benefit of a powerful or well positioned minority. Now check out the Colorado law. It says that non-competes are forbidden except for four exceptions. Check out the fourth exception:&lt;p&gt;4. Contracts with executive and management personnel and employees who constitute professional staff to executive and management personnel.&lt;p&gt;There is an actual clause covering secretaries! So you can be sure your secretary will not go working for a competitor. You do not have to think hard to guess who had this law written for themselves.</text><parent_chain><item><author>paxys</author><text>California has proven for decades now that getting rid of non-competes is good for the economy and good for workers. It&amp;#x27;s bizarre that this move hasn&amp;#x27;t been copied in every other state, especially among those who routinely invest large amounts of money to try and become &amp;quot;the next silicon valley&amp;quot;.</text></item></parent_chain></comment><story><title>Employers who violate Colorado’s non-compete laws face stiff new penalties</title><url>https://www.gunder.com/news/employers-who-violate-colorados-non-compete-laws-face-stiff-new-penalties-including-jail/</url></story>
<instructions>Your goal is to analyze the following comment and estimate how highly it will be upvoted by the Hacker News community.</instructions><comment><author>Diesel555</author><text>One of the major assumptions of market economics is a competitive environment. Here is a study on the policy of non-competes from the Office of Economic Policy in the US treasury.&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;home.treasury.gov&amp;#x2F;system&amp;#x2F;files&amp;#x2F;226&amp;#x2F;Non_Compete_Contracts_Econimic_Effects_and_Policy_Implications_MAR2016.pdf&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;home.treasury.gov&amp;#x2F;system&amp;#x2F;files&amp;#x2F;226&amp;#x2F;Non_Compete_Contr...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;First I had no idea how prolific non-competes are.&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt; Non-competes are a central labor market institution, with nearly one fifth of all American workers currently bound by such a contract.&lt;p&gt;After the policy recommendations, here is the conclusion from that paper.&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt; Though non-compete contracts can have important social benefits, principally related to the protection of trade secrets, a growing body of evidence suggests that they are frequently used in ways that are inimical to the interests of workers and the broader economy. Enhancing the transparency of non-competes, better aligning them with legitimate social purposes like protection of trade secrets, and instituting minimal worker protections can all help to ensure that non-compete contracts contribute to economic growth without unduly burdening workers.</text><parent_chain><item><author>paxys</author><text>California has proven for decades now that getting rid of non-competes is good for the economy and good for workers. It&amp;#x27;s bizarre that this move hasn&amp;#x27;t been copied in every other state, especially among those who routinely invest large amounts of money to try and become &amp;quot;the next silicon valley&amp;quot;.</text></item></parent_chain></comment><story><title>Employers who violate Colorado’s non-compete laws face stiff new penalties</title><url>https://www.gunder.com/news/employers-who-violate-colorados-non-compete-laws-face-stiff-new-penalties-including-jail/</url></story>