NationStates Jolt Archive


proposed resolution: Maximum Wage Act

Resistancia
03-03-2005, 12:37
Maximum Wage Act

A resolution to reduce income inequality and increase basic welfare.

Description: This is a proposal to make income clases fairer

many a time we hear about minimum wage acts, but the thing is, corporation bosses are making way more money off the back of minimum wage workers. our proposal is to cap the wage at a certain multiple of the minimum wage a worker earns for that company. thus, if the big boss, ceo, etc wants to give himself a raise, he has to give the lowest paid, and usually hardest working, worker a raise too. that being said, each nation should be free to set the multiple at which the maximum is. while this doesnt exactly eliminate the inequity of the wage gap, it does make corporations aknowlege who is putting the real work in

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This proposal has been subitted by the Rouge State of Resistancia.
any thoughts?
TilEnca
03-03-2005, 13:02
Maximum Wage Act

A resolution to reduce income inequality and increase basic welfare.

Description: This is a proposal to make income clases fairer

many a time we hear about minimum wage acts, but the thing is, corporation bosses are making way more money off the back of minimum wage workers. our proposal is to cap the wage at a certain multiple of the minimum wage a worker earns for that company. thus, if the big boss, ceo, etc wants to give himself a raise, he has to give the lowest paid, and usually hardest working, worker a raise too. that being said, each nation should be free to set the multiple at which the maximum is. while this doesnt exactly eliminate the inequity of the wage gap, it does make corporations aknowlege who is putting the real work in

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This proposal has been subitted by the Rouge State of Resistancia.
any thoughts?


I have a thought - no.

My fifteen ministers are charged with the responsibility of running the entire country between them. That is a lot of work and a lot of responsibility.
The lass who works down the local tax office is charged with making sure people's names are spelt right on their forms and that the forms are delivered properly. That is a little responsibility, but not as much as ensuring the nation does not collapse in to chaos.

So why should her wage be related to the wage of my ministers?

Further more - you don't say what the multiple is. So I chose 2,000,000,000. So that would mean for the lass at the tax office to get a raise of one gold piece, the ministers would need to get a raise of 2,000,000,000 gold pieces. Even with copper pieces (1gp = 100 cp) it would require a raise of 20,000,000 gold pieces to give her a raise of 1cp.
Resistancia
03-03-2005, 13:14
I have a thought - no.

My fifteen ministers are charged with the responsibility of running the entire country between them. That is a lot of work and a lot of responsibility.
The lass who works down the local tax office is charged with making sure people's names are spelt right on their forms and that the forms are delivered properly. That is a little responsibility, but not as much as ensuring the nation does not collapse in to chaos.

So why should her wage be related to the wage of my ministers?

Further more - you don't say what the multiple is. So I chose 2,000,000,000. So that would mean for the lass at the tax office to get a raise of one gold piece, the ministers would need to get a raise of 2,000,000,000 gold pieces. Even with copper pieces (1gp = 100 cp) it would require a raise of 20,000,000 gold pieces to give her a raise of 1cp.
as stated in the proposal, the maximum wage multiple can be deterimined at national level. different nations would have different ideas on what an acceptable multiple is, thus this grants them to decide for their country. also, what about the poor labourer, sweating his guts out for a company, while the big wig might make one or two desicions(sp) a day, maybe three if they are deciding what colour to paint the walls of their condo in YinWolf?
TilEnca
03-03-2005, 15:26
as stated in the proposal, the maximum wage multiple can be deterimined at national level. different nations would have different ideas on what an acceptable multiple is, thus this grants them to decide for their country. also, what about the poor labourer, sweating his guts out for a company, while the big wig might make one or two desicions(sp) a day, maybe three if they are deciding what colour to paint the walls of their condo in YinWolf?

Before I became president of TilEnca, I was the head of a software company, and every single person in that company depended on me to ensure they had a job. Every decision I made affected the lives of everyone who worked for me, and if I got it wrong, I could wipe out half the company. I think that counts as pretty serious work.
Grand Teton
03-03-2005, 17:52
as stated in the proposal, the maximum wage multiple can be deterimined at national level. different nations would have different ideas on what an acceptable multiple is, thus this grants them to decide for their country.
I like the idea of an international maximum wage, but letting nations decide on their own maximum wage means this shoots itself in the foot.
Try again.
Mickey Blueeyes
03-03-2005, 20:52
I honestly think this is a terrible idea.

Yes, social inequality is a problem but this is not the way to deal with. A position of responsibility in business will in the great majority of cases require massive investments not only in time and effort, but also financially, as future leaders finance their way through education to equip them with the skills needed to successfully run a business and provide the people under them with employment. Also, in some professions, a large personal investment needs to be made in the firm before you are even allowed to become a so-called 'big wig'.

I concur entirely with TilEnca's remarks about how positions of responsibility ought to be suitably rewarded. There is a BIG difference in the effects a decision will have at the top tiers of management than at low or middle management level (which are the people I suspect you are trying to support).

Income should be taxed, but success should not. By imposing a ceiling for success measured in money you are undermining the very reason that success is pursued in the first place - reward and personal satisfaction.
Loratana
04-03-2005, 06:30
1. They're right, you do need to spend your life to achieve success in major fields like that.
2. You're thinking of a salary, not a wage. There's a difference. Salaries are monthly/yearly/contracted pay (doctors, lawyers (who also make money from retainers on lawsuits and criminal charges, unless they work for the State), CEOs, etc.), while wages are by-the-hour pay (bag boys, meatpackers, shelf stockers, etc.).

This one's not getting my support, nor will it ever.
Vastiva
04-03-2005, 07:02
Maximum Wage Act

A resolution to reduce income inequality and increase basic welfare.

Description: This is a proposal to make income clases fairer

many a time we hear about minimum wage acts, but the thing is, corporation bosses are making way more money off the back of minimum wage workers. our proposal is to cap the wage at a certain multiple of the minimum wage a worker earns for that company. thus, if the big boss, ceo, etc wants to give himself a raise, he has to give the lowest paid, and usually hardest working, worker a raise too. that being said, each nation should be free to set the multiple at which the maximum is. while this doesnt exactly eliminate the inequity of the wage gap, it does make corporations aknowlege who is putting the real work in

----------------------
This proposal has been subitted by the Rouge State of Resistancia.
any thoughts?

Very Japanese of you.

No.

The owner of 50.1% of all businesses in Vastiva is our Sultan. His income is also set by law at 1% of income tax revenue gathered in Vastiva.

If we raise taxes, we have given the Sultan a de facto raise. By your bizaare proposal, we must then give every other worker in Vastiva an equal raise.

The economic impact boggles the mind.

Hell no.
Krioval
04-03-2005, 07:41
Kriovalian corporations pay their workers the amount of money needed to be both competitive and productive. If they do not, then other corporations succeed them. Forcing Krioval to adopt arbitrary ratios between various job types will only serve to slow our economic growth and suffocate the Commandership with more bureaucratic red tape.
Mousebumples
04-03-2005, 08:35
A couple notes ...

--Please, please, PLEASE use capitalization in your proposals. Otherwise everything just runs together, looks like a mess, and doesn't give me a good first impression.

That being said ...
--In my nation, we have a 100% income tax, so my people never see the money anyhow. Of course, all of it is given back to the public, in the form of various public support programs, but income equality is in good shape in Mousebumples. This proposal would only put unnecessary laws on the books.


We don't support this, and unless it undergoes *serious* and *major* revisions, I doubt that we'll ever support anything of this nature. I never say never, but um ... yeah.