Economic Report: Rich man, poor man, and earned "entitlements"

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.laborradio.org/node/3881



Economic Report: Rich man, poor man, and earned "entitlements"

Economic Report

By Doug Cunningham

America’s huge gap between rich and poor has gotten so bad even Bush’s treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has it on a short list of the country’s top four economic challenges. The bad news is that Paulson puts what he calls “entitlement” programs – like the social security you spend a lifetime of hard work earning – at the top of his list for “reforml.” That’s code for cuts in the programs. Paulson so far isn’t offering any solutions to the huge have – have-not gap in the U.S.

[papau]

1. We tried "non deduction" if not related to profits CEO "cap" - but it is

too easy to claim a 50% deduction in earnings is better than expected so we can double the CEO's pay - paying well over $1 million - and not face a non-deduction for that pay.

It is time for a 100% non-deductible excise tax on the company's payment of salaries over $1,000,000 per year.

A cap will work - and the CEO can take home his $20 million annually via the Board grant of not in the money options that can be sold back to the company for whatever the stock price is above the option price at time of sale - say using a last 30 days average for that price.

If he performs for the stock market he makes money.

The give the company a reduction in that excise tax for say 10% of each dollar spent on socially good expenditures not required by law or regulation.

No government control of salaries - just incentives.

Add in a jobs going overseas excise tax tax of 25% of the payroll lost for the following 4 years after the jobs are lost, and we have a set of incentives that will fix the problem.

Capitalism does NOTHING that it is not incented to do.

[Breeze54]

2. Republicans are greedy pigs!!

"Paulson so far isn’t offering any solutions"
:rofl:

And you were expecting one?? :rofl:

[MysteryToMyself]

3. Robbery isn't always done with a gun

I watched Paulson's speech. It was a memorized Bush/republiCON script. Too many baby boomers, not enough workers. People living longer than they did. Same old, same old. Those are all falsehoods.

We have all paid in extra, since 1983, to Social Security to take care of the extra costs of the retiring baby boomers. That extra money is the surplus that the government is borrowing to pay the expenses while they give tax cuts to the rich. That is the surplus that is guaranteed by US Treasury Bonds that Bush says are worthless pieces of paper. If those bonds are worthless, then so are the bonds in our 401ks.

People are living longer from birth, but not living longer past the age of 62.

Paulson says it hurts our competiveness overseas. Tell you what, if the Senators, congressmen, President and CEOs give up their benefits, then maybe we will talk.