How about a cap on CEO and executive salaries that is

[MineralMan]

equal to the compensation for the President of The United States? Any income that exceeded that cap would be taxed at 97%. I can't imagine that any corporate executive has more responsibility or decision making duties than the U.S. President.

Let's elect a Congress that would have the chutzpah to enact such a law. It might take a couple of election cycles, but we can start this November.

GOTV 2014 and Beyond!

[Thinkingabout]

1. Taxing the access of executive salaries would be a good idea. It would need to include those who

receive stock, etc. Would this congress do something sensible like this, no, it might hurt their 1% friends.

[DocwillCuNow]

2. First you have to get more than half of the board of directors to block, spurn and generally

sabotage him/her at every turn. Then let him/her try and turn a profit.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

3. Not going to happen. The right will scream 'confiscation' at the top of their lungs.

Hell, we could go back to pre-Reagan tax brackets and they scream confiscation, and you're suggesting even more.

I do think we need like a 90 top marginal tax rate, but I'd put it up to some arbitrarily high $250 million or so a year, so that it only hits hedge fund types, then drop in lower brackets at 100M (80%), 50M (70%), 20M (60%), 5M (50%). That lets the obscenely wealthy still keep getting wealthy, but substantially slows the rate. And tie that in with something like a cap on inheritances of 5M or so per person, so that any wealthy person who wants to get obscenely wealthy has to work at it themselves, not simply have it dropped on them.

[8_Point]

17. Would that inheritance limit apply to businesses as well?

Would a father be forced to sell a business with more than 5 million in assets instead of passing it on to his son?

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

18. Split it into 'stock'.

If your business is worth 10 mill, you'd have to leave it to at least 2 people, 15 mill 3 people, etc. It's easy enough to have private companies owned in such a fashion, it's not like you have to 'go public'.

The point, though, is to prevent any total transfer of assets in any form of value greater than 5 mill to a single individual. If you're worth 500 mill, all you need is 100 inheritors.

You could still game the system, if you've got enough friends you trust to simply hand over the stock back to the person you want to inherit more after you're dead.

[Initech]

4. How about a cap on corporate profits? They're just hoarding cash at this point.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

5. Except our elected criminal class will find some way to exempt themselves and their patrons.

Any legislative initiative would be bastardized in committee to keep small and medium sized businesses from competing in the upper marketplace.

[Nye Bevan]

6. The Obamas will probably earn over $200 million over the next 15 years

judging by what the Clintons have earned.

And many congressmen and senators expect to move on to huge incomes as lobbyists or working for hedge funds.

So don't hold your breath waiting for anyone who matters to get on board with this proposal.

[Warpy]

7. I would love to see that, plus a barrier between the CEO and BOD

meaning the CEO could no longer choose his own BOD.

The cap on salaries should be a proportional one: the CEO prohibited from making more than 25 times what the lowest paid worker, including temp or contract worker, makes.

Going back to the system of the corporate jet, penthouse, beachfront villa, and other perks while the top executives were on the job seemed corrupt but was cheaper than paying them all to buy their own stuff.

[leftstreet]

8. How about a dramatic increase in worker wages?

Problem solved

[abelenkpe]

9. Think it would be better to limit ceo pay to a percentage of the lowest paid employee in the company

[MineralMan]

10. I don't think there's any way to do that legally.

Congress can pass any laws they choose regarding taxation, though. That's a constitutional duty of Congress. I'm all about suggesting things that can be done, rather than things that can't under our system of government.

[former9thward]

11. Cap everyone.

Athletes, entertainers, artists. Everyone.

[joeglow3]

12. You realize presidents will make more than most CEO's over a career.

You are proposing a raise for most CEO's.

[MineralMan]

13. Nonsense. Look up the President's

compensation. Read my OP again.

[joeglow3]

20. What do you propose we do about people making 9 figures giving speeches?

[n2doc]

14. Easier to just put in the right tax system

I would like to see this first:

1. Executive salaries,options, bennies and pension packages are not tax deductible from corporate profits. Every dollar that goes to this category is taxed as income, regardless of corporate or exec location.
2. Executive salaries should be set by an outside board with no conflicts of interest, and has to have representatives from workers and lower management and investors.
3. Ban the "golden parachute', Execs should not be bribed to allow their corps to be taken over. They may benefit from the increase in value of whatever stock holdings they have.
4. Most of all, I would like to see a 50% estate tax, with strict limits on foundations and 'charitable' giving.

[Generic Brad]

15. I've always favored a maximum wage

CEO's and executives could bring home as much as they want so long as their salary and perks do not exceed 15 times what their lowest paid worker earns.

[jmowreader]

16. Good idea but it needs some work

Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me, but not in the way F. Scott Fitzgerald thought.

The difference is the way they're paid. You and me get paid in a currency called Money. Money is taxable when you get it, and you pay taxes on all you get.

The very rich get paid in a currency called Stock Options. You don't pay taxes at all on those when you get them. How they work is pretty complex: you receive a certificate that lets you buy stock at a discounted price per share. You hold the stock for two years after you receive the option, and then you only pay taxes on your profit when you sell it...and you only pay the capital gains rate.

The tax implication is pretty significant: if I am a company owner, I pay my manager $10 million in stock options, and he makes $7 million in profit from selling the stock, he doesn't pay 39.6 percent on the $10 million, but 20 percent on $8 million.

If you really want to put the screws to these guys, get rid of the capital gains tax rate and tax investment income at the same rate as wages, and sunset all deductions at $4 million total compensation. Just taxing all ordinary income exceeding $400,000/year will result in every executive in America earning $399,999 in cash and two brazillion dollars in stock options, rather than the $1 million in cash and one brazillion in options they currently receive. I could live with Jamie Dimon paying 39.6 percent on all his ill-gotten gains.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

19. That, of course is needful too.

Income should be income, period. There shouldn't be different tax rates for different types of income that value capital over labour.

[flvegan]

21. That's sort of ironic, considering.

CEOs, decision making, our president. They sometimes make decisions that our president...oh, well you know.