Disclaimer 2: My google fu is not that good and I cannot find anything about it. The only results are related to sports.
Disclaimer 3: It just a passing thought, I didn't explore all the social/economical/political intricacies. But that's why I'm asking here :-).
What do you think of putting socially a limit on how much an individual (not family) can earn? What is the point of earning more than what I can spend in my lifetime, or my grandchildren lifetime?. My question is specifically targeted for people who earn more than half a million dollars per year. I could understand earning at least 150-200K/year having a family and providing them a good life, maybe not a luxurious life. Now, the exact amount I don't know. It will vary according to the market.
I keep thinking, limiting the salary a person can earn, will somehow discourage people from running this rat race and accumulating so much wealth. It will inevitably put in every person mind the idea of work and personal life balance.
Once reached the top money, why should I keep working?
This will partially solve all the social insurance, UBI, retirement plans,..., right? The extra money goes to the social fund of a nation?
The ever-growing and ever-progressing mindset that we have is not sustainable in the long-term. Why not put the same cap also per companies? Why the goal of a company is always earning more? What if we put a cap also there?
> What is the point of earning more than what I can spend in my lifetime, or my grandchildren lifetime?.
That level of wealth doesn't come from salary. It comes from equity. All that "money" is on paper. If the company made too many mistakes, all that wealth disappears. Besides, most family wealth is spent in 3 generations.
EDIT:
> I keep thinking, limiting the salary a person can earn, will somehow discourage people from running this rat race and accumulating so much wealth. It will inevitably put in every person mind the idea of work and personal life balance.
Maybe, but work life balance is a very personal choice. If someone wants to work all the time, we, as a society, should let them. It might not be the best choice for the individual, but its their choice, and no one should stop them.
Furthermore, even if a salary cap was imposed on everyone, there would still be a rat race, since work is not valued equally. People at the bottom will still work themselves "to death" and not have good work life balance.
"A study of 300 top US companies released by the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) on Tuesday found the average gap between CEO and median worker pay jumped to 670-to-1 (meaning the average CEO received $670 in compensation for every $1 the worker received). The ratio was up from 604-to-1 in 2020."
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jun/07/us-wage-gap-...
2. I don’t need more work/balance, 1-2 days off à week is enough for me. I don’t need weeks of holidays. I am working remotely in a nomad fashion, I don’t need time off to travel.
3. I am using my excess cash for fun experiments, your cap would not allow me to do that.
4. Except for unique circumstances, people making half a million a year, are not in the rat race. That allows you to buy roughly 8-10 appartements every year in some countries. They keep working because it’s something they enjoy doing.
What would I do if stopped working?
I would basically keep coding but make 0 money doing it while there are people willing to pay me?
Does not make any sense
I think that neither you nor anyone else has any standing to impose such a thing. And I further think that anyone who tries can go fuck themselves. shrug