21 June 2006 - 7:12pm
Setting the Maximum Wage
Congress is debating whether or not to raise the minimum wage.
Why not set a maximum wage, instead? What about a maximum wage of $1,000/hr ... that's 2.08 million a year based on 40 hours a week. Pretty cushy for anyone if you ask me for working 9 to 5.
Those who have read books on economics or who have taken the subject in school know the argument that "the minimum wage 'costs' jobs." The argument goes that if wages are raised, employers will hiring "up the food chain." For example. The $5.15 per hour worker, now waking $7.63 hour won't look as attractive as the worker already earning $7.63. In fact, employers will bid-up the wages of the person already making $7.63 (say to $9.45 before the bidding is over) and all that happens is inflation.
Listening to the folks on the New Hour (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/jan-june06/minwage_0...) we hear about low productivity employees who are not worthy of more.
But no man is an island. It's like a pyramid with a bunch of low wage earners at the bottom supporting layers (of ever fewer) workers who make more ... all the way on up.
What about a maximum wage? An idea whose time has come?
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Comments
The idea of a maximum wage actually has roots that go deep into American history. In fact, back in 1942, a President of the United States actually proposed what amounted to a maximum wage. FDR that year called for a 100 percent tax rate on all individual income over $25,000, a sum that would equal about $318,000 today.
Congress didn't go along with FDR's income cap, but Congress did set the top tax rate -- for income over $200,000 -- at 94 percent, and that top rate would hover around 90 percent for the next two decades, years that would see the greatest period of middle class prosperity in U.S. history.
The latest political figute to call for a maximum wage: Dr. Brian Iddon, a world-class chemist who currently sits in the British Parliament as a Labor Party MP. He called for an income cap late last month in a House of Commons question-and-answer exchange with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
For more on the history of the maximum wage notion, and thoughts on a maximum wage strategy for today, check Greed and Good (www.greedandgood.org), an Apex Press book now available free online.
...rather than having proper healthcare or road maintenance or decent schools....
How can I ever hope to be a success in life unless CEOs can make $100,000 an hour? Someday I may make that much money. But if I can make only $1,000/hour or even $10,000/hour, well, shoot, there's just no incentive for me to work hard!
I might as well stay at my minimum wage job. After all, that way I can be a lazy "low productivity worker" instead of a hard working board jockey.
Capitalism is a good system, but turning it into a religion is going a bit far. The capitalist theology has a series of unexamined beliefs - one is that corporations are divinely conceived and are "better" at doing almost all things.
To say the top guy at Exxon works 15 times harder because he is paid $147,000/day vs. $8000/day, is tommy rot.
There is a "religious" belief people's performance corresponds to their wage ad people's wages correspond to their performance. But what invisible hand works its wonders, here?
Corporations were invented as a means to serve the people - to generate taxes through wages and products and to increase the national wealth - not operate as person fiefdoms for modern day robber barons.
Time for a maximum wage law.
What do you say ? I really think we need to do something about these fine bipartisans joining hands to vote themselves more boatloads of gravy every fifteen minutes...