Hypothetical Question

[burner69]

This law is passed

"It is illegal for any person to earn more than 400% of the national minimum wage, that includes presidents, corporate managers, sports stars, movie stars, electricions, everybody. This law will be rigerously imposed."

What would happen to our great society?

Discuss.

 

[Kommie]

Well, alot of businesses would go bankrupt, stock investment would decrease, people would be angry at decreased living conditions, property values would drop. I am thinking almost total economic collapse?

 

[Steve]

Putting a salary cap on the country? You'd have to set it higher than that. That'd put it around 52,000 a year. Or is that just a figure put in for example?

 

[burner69]

Notice how I put minimum wage, something that can change. And I'm talking individuals here. Not corporations. As the average joe in the UK earns probably less than 400% of the minimum wage, and they're the ones who buy company products, there's no reason that comapnies would collapse.... but by investing some of their profits in the government minimum wage could go up, meaning the fat cats could earn more money.

EDIT: Perhaps we could knock it up from 400%, but do you see what I'm getting at. For the rich to get richer, they have to take the poor up with them.

 

[Kommie]

Putting a salary cap on the country? You'd have to set it higher than that. That'd put it around 52,000 a year. Or is that just a figure put in for example?

Yes 52,000 is about right, and THAT would be what the CEOS and such get. The mid-level job range salary would probably be around ten dollars.

Notice how I put minimum wage, something that can change. And I'm talking individuals here. Not corporations. As the average joe in the UK earns probably less than 400% of the minimum wage, and they're the ones who buy company products, there's no reason that comapnies would collapse.... but by investing some of their profits in the government minimum wage could go up, meaning the fat cats could earn more money.

Why would the average joe get paid the maximum possible salary? his work is hardly as valuable as executives?

Besides assuming that the minimum wage did change then inflation would make that change worthless very quickly.

 

[Steve]

Yes 52,000 is about right, and THAT would be what the CEOS and such get. The mid-level job range salary would probably be around ten dollars.

Yeah. You can barely live on that.

 

[Eg.]

thats borderline communism, fudge it. if that does happen, i would move to ireland or someplace where they have common sense

 

[burner69]

thats borderline communism, fudge it. if that does happen, i would move to ireland or someplace where they have common sense

Got it. I'm intrigued how people would view this, surely socialist law if it came along. It's not a great example, but raises some interesting questions, I think.

 

[furiousV]

im just wondering what is now happening to our freedoms we have, by capping our salary, will other countries follow example? theyre even trying to eliminate cash altogether over here!

 

[No Limit]

You do this you create a communist state. In theory it could work but once you apply human greed to it you quickly find out it wouldn't.

 

[justmatt]

Notice how I put minimum wage, something that can change. And I'm talking individuals here. Not corporations.

Oh boy...if only corporations weren't practically individuals already.

Seriously though, I don't there'd be a shot in hell at people going for that right now. It'd be dismissed as "communist".

 

[justmatt]

Yeah. You can barely live on that.

You can't live on 52,000 dollars a year? That's over $4,300 dollars a month. Do you have 8 kids or something? Do you drive a BMW?

I WISH I had to live on that. I'm living on under $24K a year right now (granted by myself).

 

[Kommie]

You can't live on 52,000 dollars a year? That's over $4,300 dollars a month. Do you have 8 kids or something? Do you drive a BMW?

I WISH I had to live on that. I'm living on under $24K a year right now (granted by myself).

I think he means that you would barely be able to live on the mid-level job salary which would be around 10 dollars an hour,

 

[burner69]

You do this you create a communist state. In theory it could work but once you apply human greed to it you quickly find out it wouldn't.

That's wahat I'm interested in. How will human greed destroy this? In the hypothetical situation that you CAN'T change or break the law.

 

[burner69]

I think he means that you would barely be able to live on the mid-level job salary which would be around 10 dollars an hour,

Thing is, with human greed making the top earners greedy, they'll want more $$$$. The only way to do that is invest their companies earnings to the government who can then raise minimum wage, so the corporate top end bosses could increase their salary.

It's taking advantage of the powerful, greedy guys at the top, and tying ourselves to them, so the higher they go, the higher we go.

 

[Steve]

Nevermind. Kommie said it for me.