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Take The CEO Pay Fight Local

Thursday, December 1, 2016

By Sarah Anderson, Contributor, usnews.com

Public outrage over sky-high CEO pay runs across the political spectrum…

Frustrated with Washington inaction, some activists are taking the CEO pay fight local…

These efforts are most advanced in Portland, Oregon, where the city council is holding a hearing on Oct. 26 to consider what would be the nation’s first-ever surtax on corporations with wide gaps between their CEO and worker pay. Firms that do business in Portland would owe a 10 percent surtax on the city’s existing business tax if they pay their CEOs more than 100 times what their workers receive [i.e. their workforce median wage]…

We Respond & Your Comments

We’ll skip over the fact that it’s none of Portland city councilors’ business who pays what to whom. This is just another example of bumbling busybody bureaucrats distorting another market.

But we do want to make two points:

  • What incentives are these numbskulls, who can’t even keep Portland sidewalks clear of seemingly comatose bodies, creating? First – they’re incenting companies not to locate in Portland. How brilliant is that? Second, they’re incenting companies to get rid of lower income workers in order to raise their median wage number. That’ll really help “the little guy” their hearts bleed for.
  • Why do we never hear these income inequality crusaders bleat about progressives like Meryl Streep snagging $825,000 per TV episode or Robert De Nero pulling down $750,000 per show?

Liberal income inequality outrage seems highly selective and limited to CEO’s – who actually create something.

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