Should there be a maximum wage?

**ukinfj** · 06-17-2011 10:16 AM

I'm loving the debate forums at the moment so here's another: Should there be a maximum wage as well as a minimum wage?

The reason I believe there should be a maximum wage is because there have been a lot of complaints where I am recently (UK) about the amount public sector workers are paid. Personally, the bottom ranking workers I believe are paid about right. Some private sector workers meanwhile, are paid shockingly low amount for the amount of work they do. But at the top end of the scale, you've got public sector workers on ridiculous amounts of money - it was shown, for example, that the director general of the BBC was paid over £900,000. Now that's stupid money and we shouldn't be paying that with our taxes, but the public sector's excuse was a good one - if you don't compete with the private sector wages (which are astronomically high at top levels) then you can't get the best staff. Without the best staff, people will only be complaining that the public sector is ineffective.

So I would propose a maximum wage was put in place to make the playing field level and attract good workers at high levels to the public sector as well as the private sector. I would set this amount at £250,000 - which I still think is extremely high, but not nearly as much as some people are making!

What do you think?

**Shahada** · 06-17-2011 10:23 AM

There should definitely be a maximum wage, but I agree that 250k is too high. More like 100k and even that's a stretch IMO. I'm hesitant to say an exact amount that should be the maximum, because I think that's going to depend a lot on the specific circumstances of where and when such a law is passed. As a general rule though if your wage passes the "comfortable" category and into "luxurious and opulent" then yeah, take 'em down a peg.

**ukinfj** · 06-17-2011 10:38 AM

Originally Posted by Shahada

There should definitely be a maximum wage, but I agree that 250k is too high. More like 100k and even that's a stretch IMO. I'm hesitant to say an exact amount that should be the maximum, because I think that's going to depend a lot on the specific circumstances of where and when such a law is passed. As a general rule though if your wage passes the "comfortable" category and into "luxurious and opulent" then yeah, take 'em down a peg.

I'd be fine with £100k but it might be a difficult law to pass. You'd have enough trouble getting some people to agree to £250k!

**Shahada** · 06-17-2011 10:41 AM

Well yeah definitely, how to get it passed is a separate issue from whether it's the right thing to do though. Passing a maximum wage law in a capitalist society is going to be unbelievably difficult, it's like trying to pass a law to put a territorial limit on a monarch's domain under feudalism.

**Hokahey** · 06-17-2011 11:41 AM

If people are willing/going to pay for someone's services why should there be a limit?

**Shahada** · 06-17-2011 11:45 AM

Originally Posted by Hokahey

If people are willing/going to pay for someone's services why should there be a limit?

Because if people accumulate too much wealth they can have a disproportional influence on politics and distort the democratic process, for just one reason.

I also think there's a certain obvious moral component here. A society that tolerates billionaires with more money and private jets and yachts than they'll ever know what to do with while millions starve in the streets is a completely morally bankrupt society and I think this is pretty clear. People tolerate it though, mostly due to ignorance and propaganda.

**Hokahey** · 06-17-2011 11:50 AM

Originally Posted by Shahada

Because if people accumulate too much wealth they can have a disproportional influence on politics and distort the democratic process, for just one reason.

I also think there's a certain obvious moral component here. A society that tolerates billionaires with more money and private jets and yachts than they'll ever know what to do with while millions starve in the streets is a completely morally bankrupt society and I think this is pretty clear. People tolerate it though, mostly due to ignorance and propaganda.

I don't know sounds like greed to me. I want more of what someone else has. But if we are gonna redistribute the wealth so everyone is simply "equal" we might as well get rid of "wealth" entirely and everyone will simply work to provide needs to everyone just because they feel like it and it's some kind of understood thing.

**Shahada** · 06-17-2011 11:55 AM

Originally Posted by Hokahey

I don't know sounds like greed to me. I want more of what someone else has.

Sorry you feel that way, but the fact that it "sounds like greed to you" doesn't make it so. Those are valid reasons, and you don't have to agree with them, but they have nothing to do with greed.

Not even getting into the absolutely bizarre logical contortions one has to make to call the people calling for a pay cap greedy and not, you know, the people making billions of dollars while most of the world lives on less than $2 a day.