Mar 032014
I don’t get to bring you this as often as I like, as I seldom find it complete in a format everyone can view. He’s usually disrespectful, and sometimes even downright offensive, but always funny as hell. Enjoy!
HBO’s Bill Maher probably didn’t win any friends among his fellow wealthy Americans when he suggested that not only do we need an improvement in the minimum wage, but perhaps we should also have a "maximum wage" to keep these whining plutocrats from highjacking our democracy…
Inserted from <Crooks and Liars>
I need to get some of that B & J Obama Ice Cream!! Frankly, I think the maximum wage is a great idea. What do you think might be an appropriate limit?
14 Responses to “Bill Maher–New Rules–3/1”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
I love the idea of a minimum and maximum wage. I think it might just be the way to reduce the cost of living. If no one could afford the outrageous prices of almost everything, cost would come down.
What should the max be? I actually like the idea of $300,000.
I wouldn't mind giving tax breaks for stock options delayed 10 years. But otherwise, be conservative by going back to the tax code of my youth – during the Eisenhower administration.
The 10 year delay stops a CEO from gutting a company for his inmedicate wealth, and makes sure his decisions actually are profitable in the long term.
I think the maximum CEO salary should be tied to the minimum wage of the worker-bees. Let's say 50x. (The current average ratio is ~ 230.)
http://www.epi.org/publication/ib331-ceo-pay-top-1-percent/
So if the CEO thinks the minimum s/he pays a drone is fine at $30k, that gives a generous CEO salary of $1.5 MILLION.
It the CEO doesn't think s/he can live on $1.5 MILLION and wants more – then pay the worker-bees more.
Agreed. If the highest and lowest salaries are not too far off the medium salary, give tax breaks to the company.
Raise the Minimum Wage, Lower the Maximum Wage.
What a novel idea… lol.
'
As Nameless says, a maximum wage should be expressed as a multiple of the lowest wage in the corporation or enterprise. As Lona says, a maximum wage is by no means the same thing as a maximum income. If, as JL says, the highest paid state employees in California are prison doctors and mental health practitioners, then California is exceptional in this as well as other things – most states' highest paid employees are the football coaches at the state colleges and universities. As nobody here said yet (although I heard it from Miss Texas Kitty) J K Rowling lost her billionaire status by giving money away, which puts her in some kind of a class with Gates and Buffett. One other thing that nobody has said is that I am pretty sure the term "free enterprise" is not in the Constitution. I for one do not see it as in any way sacred.
Free enterprise isn't in the Constitution. Obviously it must be in the Bible, if we read it with the right colored glasses. Stories that Jesus accepted sinners and the poor, and disliked the temple moneychangers and warned about how hard it was for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven are obviously Liberal propaganda.
I am not offended by Bill Maher, it is adult humor and meant to be sarcastic and cutting. I do have HBO and watch every week that he is on the air.
I agree with Gene but that's not unusual, I often agree with him and so many others that have left interesting and thoughtful comments. We once had CEO's that made 25% more than the lowest paid worker, and it worked just fine. Once those top wages began creeping up, the lower paid workers found their salaries frozen and have remained so since.
I feel that most of us have forgotten that the idea of free enterprise is based on the idea of anyone willing or able to take the risk to open a business was able to do that, and just as able to fail. Free enterprise is not based on "Too Big to Fail" but everyone having a fair wage and equal and fair opportunity. Therefore, an easy conclusion is that we do not have free enterprise. Please remember that all of this was organized in a book published in 1776, by Adam Smith, "The Wealth of Nations" and he warns in almost every chapter that the government must be prepared to rein in corporations as they grow or face the reality of corporations becoming the leading force of the government direction. Sound familiar? A maximum wage or salary has always been a good idea, but for just over 30 years all regulations that protect the people from the over reach of corporate growth has been left far behind. We suffer in many ways from this lack of regulation.
Thanks TC – again, love Bill Maher and if people are offended by adult language there is a choice to not listen.
I agree with Nameless that the CEO salary should be a factor of the lowest paid worker. At the current levels of CEO compensation, nobody needs that much money to live.
In North America particularly, we are too often drawn to conspicuous consumption. Many, myself included, could live with less. Too often we are trying to keep up with the Jones'. I have been at odds with myself for a number of years on this very point and have made progress.
Live simply so others can simply live.
Thanks everyone.
Kit, the thing he does tht offends me is that he treats authentic Christians like Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christians.
Well, TC, he is not alone in this,.and there is some excuse for him. Authentic Christians like Jim Wallis (and others with Sojourners) and Weldon Gaddy (Interfaith Alliance) are stating as loudly as they can, "No, that is not Christian, THIS is Christian" – and their voices are getting drowned and lost, and not just on account of Fox News. There is also a website "We're Not All Like That" (http://notalllikethat.org/about/) and, frankly, it is taking a lot of flak, while not getting much advice on how it could do better.
Messrs Schwarzman and Perkins et al wailing about their 'persecution' (aka some people objecting to their paying less tax than their secretaries!) – is nothing new – they have been moaning for decades – and we haven't been shouting loud enough to contradict them! I do agree with Bill Maher about productivity increasing nearly 100% and wages rising by 8% is awful – and I LOVE FDR's maximum wage – that is LOVELY! God bless the dear man!
I love the Warren Buffet quote – 'I should write a book on how to get by on $500 million, because apparently there's a lot of people who don't know how to do it!'. – yowsa!
I always enjoy Bill Maher segments… 😳