Maximum Wage

[Sub Atomic]

I was listening to Jello Biafra on the way to work this morning (now donning asbestos suit) and he spoke of his plan for maximum wages.

I vaguely remembered what the concept was about so I did a Wikipedia search this morning:


The minimum wage concept, it is believed, can help limit the possibility of deflation of a currency or overall economy. Similarly, it is believed that a maximum wage could limit the possibility of inflation of a currency or economy. This is achieved by the creation of a relative economic bar; meaning that any given economy, relative to its working populace, cannot inflate past the point of the relative maximum wage or deflate past the point of the relative minimum wage. Therefore, the economy effectively hovers between points of inflation and deflation. It is argued that the working populace in an economy that has both a minimum and maximum wage is, therefore, bound to live in the middle of the two economic wage points. This, supporters argue, is advantageous due to the fact that most historians agree that strong economies are supported by a strong middle class.

The maximum wage concept can be implemented in several different ways: through a direct limit on earnings; indirectly by scaled taxation whereby the top earners in a society are taxed extremely high percentages of their income; or through relative company wages, in which the salary for the top earner in a company is restricted to being no more than a specific multiple of the salary received by that company's lowest earner. When implemented, a maximum wage, theoretically, would be able to help a government in redistribution of wealth to the lower classes. While many provide this as the main reason in support of implementing a maximum wage, there are several benefits supplied to the upper class as well. It is theorized that a maximum wage, if effective, could also reduce devaluation in currency. This effect would be achieved because, by limiting the amount any given member of the general populace can make, a maximum wage would also effectively limit the availability of currency.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximum_wage


Biafra's preferred method of implementing Maximum Wage controls was to implement the scaled taxation plan.

Considering the incredible inequity of wealth today, in combination with the study that shows that if you're born poor, chances are you're going to stay poor, do you think that a candidate supporting Maximum Wage would get any support today?

[Captain Hilts]

1. "Jello Biafra??" nt

[Sub Atomic]

2. Yeah. He was nominated as the Green Party candidate in 2000.

But Nader got the nod instead.

He was also the front singer for the Dead Kennedys.

[savemefromdumbya]

6. Yes I saw the "Dead Kennedys"

[savemefromdumbya]

8. What would the CEOs do then especially the Exxxxon one

[shadowknows69]

25. Hey we had Ronald Regan as President

and now a cowboy whose puppeteers want him to be Reagan. Fuck it. Jello for Pres!!!

[Warpy]

17. I would love to see the expressions on the faces of the pompous

if they ever had to utter the words, "President Jello Biafra."

In any case, we did have a defacto maximum wage until first Kennedy and then Reagan screwed it up. The top tax rate was a near confiscatory 90% and it worked as a disincentive to greed. I remember acquaintances of my pop (who was doing well, himself) complaining that they didn't want raises because that would shoot them into a higher tax bracket and make them a little poorer.

The problem with the old progressive tax system was that it was tied to fixed dollar amounts and increased taxes on people who weren't even keeping up with inflation.

We need a return to common sense taxation which means progressive taxation. We just need to tie it to the median wage, something that can be reassessed yearly in stable times, quarterly in unstable times.

We need a return to the CPI being based on a STANDARD market basket, not the cherrypicked Greenspan market basket that tracked worsening lifestyles instead of inflation.

We need to update the poverty formula which now says a family spends 1/3 of its income for food since families now spend only 1/6 of their income for food.

We need a steep rise in the minimum wage so that a worker can support himself on it, and that means being able to access the health care system when he needs it whether or not we get single payer.

We need our jobs protected from predatory countries like China and India.

These are all issues the conservative Democrats have been ignoring for decades, and this is why the party base keeps them out of power.

If Biafra runs against another DLC conservative, he may get my vote.

[bryant69]

3. It would be hard

It is baffling to consider the disparity between worker pay and CEO pay - most people looking at that realize that something had gone wrong. But would they support capping pay? I don't know.

I suspect they would be vulnerable to the argument "well what incentive do they have to continue succeeding once they hit the maximum wage?"

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[Sub Atomic]

9. "What incentive....."

Was Milton Friedman's argument.

I think it's a strawman.

People can continue to succeed even if they hit the maximum wage. They can invest in the stock market, invest in their communities, invest in making life more enjoyable for everyone as opposed to the priveleged few.

[bryant69]

15. I don't think it's a Strawman

At least not as I understand the term. Because some people really will want stuff. Some people want three houses and a fleet of boats and what not. And even if some people don't really want that, most people can understand why people would desire those things.

It also depends on what the Maximum wage would be and how it would be implemented.

Also it should be obvious to everybody the desire to make "life more enjoyable for everyone" is a rare impulse, not a common one.

Bryant

[mdmc]

4. God bless Jello

I once heard the GOP described as protecting the status quo. The Dems were described as trying to make the status quo fairer for all, while continuing to protect the status quo.

[negativenihil]

5. Jello has a radio show?!?

Is it syndicated? i'd love to listen as i am a huge dead kennedys fan...

[Sub Atomic]

10. No, it's a 3 CD set I picked up the other day.

His message is pretty incredible.

He does slam Clinton/Gore pretty hard for their corporatist sell-out.

IMO it's pretty well-deserved criticism.

[negativenihil]

14. Oh word!

His spoken word stuff is something i've never had a chance to dive into. Based on the politically charged lyrics form the dead kennedys and his record with the melvins i'm sure i know what to expect :)

[quispquake]

13. Radio show...

No, but he's got a LOT of spoken word CD's available on the Alternative Tentacles site, and they are now also doing 'Batcasts' with lots of Jello interviews & the such...he's still pretty essential!!!

pp23

[Orangepeel]

7. No.

A candidate supporting a maximum wage would get essentially no support. He or she would get as much support as... well, Jello Biafra would.

Candidates who admit they will try to raise taxes on the top 1% of the country or inherited wealth have a hard time. Hell, in some parts of the country, candidates supporting a minimum wage can't get elected.

You can argue that a maximum wage would be good for the economy until you are blue in the face. It sounds like heavy state control, sounds "Unamerican," and fights with people's fantasy life.

[katmondoo]

12. Nixon tried that

Gave the employer a reason for not giving raises. I was working at the time and my employer was as happy as one can be to be able to say sorry no wage increases by presidential order.

[DaveJ]

18. People need to wake up

While I agree that many would see this as unamerican, it actually is very American. Money equals control of other people. When we allow people to accumulate hundreds of millions and even billions of dollars we are giving them control over us. People need to see the issue in this context. I don't think this rule should kick in though until people are making at least a million per year. And even then there should be some consideration of whether the person owns his own business, or is using that money for potential investment or self insurance. But overall the maximum wage policy is a great idea.

[rman]

22. That's only because many more people think they are in the high income

category then is actually the case.
The super rich have convinced much of the lesser wealthy and the middle class that they to would "suffer" from progressive taxation. Reality is that most people could benefit from increased funds for government programs such as social security, health care etc - all things that the super rich have no need for.

[Sammy Pepys]

11. Biafra has been plugging that for a long time.

I estimate it has zero chance of ever being implemented.

[bluestateguy]

16. I'd rather our efforts be focused elsewhere

Like making the minimum wage a real living wage, indexed to inflation. National health care for all Americans and the end of private health insurance. Free college education for all who are qualified and a guaranteed right to a job for all Americans.

If we can do all of those things, then I have no problem with the wealthy getting even richer.

[PATRICK]

24. Efforts yes, but spread the idea

It everyone salutes it, raise the flag higher. Nothing wrong with good ideas and a good one may just surprise everyone by catching on. Lord knows they pour gasoline on rotten ideas, on hate, ignorance and fear and still can't win a strong majority of the people and not for long. They use lies, violence and all the media and stolen power available all backed by the money that is mortally out of control. Why be afraid of spreading the word on good ideas?

It is not necessary to bury good ideas because we fear the bad ones are so entrenched we must submit to their dominance. It is not necessary especially to trounce Dems as "progressive" and "populist" as if agreeing that some taint is attached to virtue.

But the best ideas really are, currently "living wage" "free college" "full employment" and those who are the system of the mega rich plutocracy have a HUUUUGE problem with any on those and anything above sheeple slavery. It really is all connected. If a balance rather a revolution is achieved for now that indeed would be fine. But it would fall short and always be more ready to fall back than progress.

Psychologically a maximum wage might curb some of the madness of excess that overthrows rich minds and civil society. It certainly would not eliminate all the ways to accumulate massive wealth and influence. As simple as it sounds it would antagonize them with a wrist slap which they would set their lawyers working on for loopholes- and revenge. A marriage of all ideas, a comprehensive commitment to law and justice and civic responsibility would bring a needed dimension to this age old competition for the pie that is currently threatened with extinction.

[LSdemocrat]

19. I think rich people would rather leave and take their companies with them

I'd prefer less draconian means of redistributing wealth.

[Newsjock]

20. The USA effectively had this for many years -- and we prospered anyway

Some of the most striking economic growth we've ever seen -- construction of the Interstate highway system, the rise of the middle class -- all happened with what we now would call "confiscatory" tax rates on the top tier of the wealthiest incomes, many of those years under a Republican administration. But any talk of returning to such rates is practically verboten today, even among supposedly progressive Democrats.

http://www.truthandpolitics.org/top-rates.php

This is a table of the top marginal tax rate faced by married couples for most of the last century in the US.

... 1954-1963: 91% on taxable income over $400,000

On edit: That's about $2.5 million in today's dollars, give or take a bit.

[DaveJ]

23. Good point

I was not aware of these figures but thank you for pointing out that at America's peak we were taxing the super-rich heavily. The answer why is very simple -- this is a society that should not accept totalitarian control over us by the super-rich.

[Idioteque]

21. Jello Rocks

If you liked Tipper, You'll LOVE Joseph Lieberman!

[jbnow]

26. Ben & Jerry's

back when it was run by Ben and Jerry had a rule that no one could be paid more than 7 times the amount of the lowest paid. That is pretty extreme but in Europe the ratio is about 25. In the US it is a ratio of 500 times or over and that is disgusting.

They say you have to pay a lot to get the best. Their best is not that good, what it attracts is the greedy.
If corporations set up that kind of system where there was a ratio between the lowest and highest paid every company would improve.

There is something so wrong about obscene pay...or obscene profits.