It's not that easy.
"Im used to spending too much money so in order to not getting a minimal pay cut im gonna work on unethical proyects." Isthe kind of insane thinking only people at HN seem to say without flinching.
Like at that point do not work at google, write ransomware for a company in Russia, they will pay even more money. Make bio weapons for a dictator in a civil war afflicted country of the third world. If Life style creep and your new Tesla to drive your kids to the private school is the only thing keeping you in check, you might as well trade stocks against life expectancy based on obesity reports and climate change effects on coastal areas.
Do any of them support a sick kid, spouse, parent? Any of them send money home?
All I'm saying is that some of them might not be in a situation in which they could, on a whim, risk getting fired. And we shouldn't blame them because the fix for that is not on their hands.
That also accounts for expenses.
Do any of them send money home? Help parents or grandparents? Do any of them had to bring their parents or grandparents to live with them due to health issues? Lifestyle creep takes into account taking on more debt. That debt is not just in luxury like how most people think.
Some that help their parents, some that have kids, some that have sick spouses, some that brought their parents to live with them and support them due to health issues, some that have work visas.
I am simply saying that even though the right thing to do would be refusing, you also have to consider everyone's life circumstances when they make decisions.
The fact that they make $100k, $200k, $300k like another comment said means that they don't just need a job, they need a job making roughly the same amount of money and having the same benefits to be able to risk getting fired.
My original comment I wrote it so that we wouldn't just place everyone in the same group and generalize. It's not necessarily always as easy as refusing and risking your job. You're risking whoever else you support for example.
Lifestyle creep is believing luxuries or non essentials are essentials due to now them having become part of your day to day.
Google engineers are not special. Everyone has a situation, and family, and bills. Everyone has a parent who will die one day. Everyone hits hard times. Everyone faces tests of character at inopportune times. Very few of those people are making $300k a year tho, and nonetheless making the rightethical choices every day. Why can't Google engineers?
That's why I said standing up for your principles is difficult. If it were easy, everyone would do it.