I am an Independent and I try to look at problems from both sides so I have a better understanding of where people are coming from…
To understand a little bit about where I am coming from…
I have always been good at breaking apart complex issues and finding the root cause of problems. I grew up poor, for my area, and my dad made just enough money to keep us out of financial assistance ranges. So my friends on food stamps usually ate better than us… We survived because of our church's food bank.
I am currently working part time and I was fired from my corporate job (executive level escalations), of almost 15 years, in April because I refused to upload my personal medical information to a 3rd party company. I chose to stand up for all of our freedom and lost my livelihood. I loathe the idea of working for another corporation.
Okay… With that being said, I would like to get the Antiwork opinion on something. I personally can see why Communism/Socialism appeals to the left and I can also see the benefits of Capitalism.
I think the biggest issue is that Capitalism is currently broken because of the lack of checks and balances, I also feel like Communism isn't a viable option because the best part Capitalism is the financial incentive to create new products and services and that gets lost with Communism.
I had been trying to figure out a way to implement a “Maximum Wage” but still keep the essence of Capitalism for several years. Implementing an arbitrary number just seemed as pointless as the minimum wage… We all know how hard it is to live on $7.25/hr…
I had an epiphany earlier this year on how to apply it. I have released a plan at www.pauseforthecause.com with the full details. It centers around a variable rate income tax that scales automatically and indefinitely, that is determined using the lowest paid employee's salary within each company.
Each employee would have a tax rate equal to how many times more they make than the lowest paid employee. So if Joe makes $25k a year and is the lowest paid employee and his boss Jane makes $50k a year, then Jane would have a 2% tax rate since she makes 2x what Joe makes. However this does stop Mike, the CEO, from making 1,000x more than Joe… since he would then have a 1,000% tax rate. It essentially places a “Maximum Wage” of 99x the lowest paid employee before every cent went to tax or they owed extra. However, most people will likely see a tax break with the proposed system, since the current tax rate caps at 37%.
It also changes the way we tax businesses, to the same way we collect medicare and social security taxes currently, on wages versus profits. It completely removes all tax loopholes and deductions and levels the playing field for small businesses.
Would a more fair work environment be motivation to want to work for someone else?
Would a level playing field encourage you to potentially start a business?
Would you support this plan?
If not, will you please advise what concerns you would have?