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Equal Pay Now! - Part 1

3/19/2019

 
What can be fairer than equal pay?

What would equal pay look like?

How this can easily be done with a simplified tax code.

What can be done until laws are changed?

Given the pain many Americans suffered with the 2008 recession and things heating up for the 2020 election, what can be done to help the majority of our workers?

Until Congress passes legislation to create a Department of Fairness, there's actually a lot we can do to achieve equal pay.

Let's see what equal pay would be.

All pay is reported to the government. The Social Security Administration produces an annual report of wage statistics.

The current report is for 2017 which is where our numbers come from. The 2018 report is due in October. (link to report)

The average pay of 165,438,239 workers is $48,251.57 or roughly $4,020 per month or $928 per week (before taxes, Social Security, and Medicare deductions).

Over two-thirds of workers (67.4%) make less than this.

Looking at the top 25 highest paying jobs (link to article) - there just aren't enough job openings (less than 60,000) to give the remaining 165 million a shot of bettering themselves.

The only fair thing to do is have every worker earn ​$48,251.57.

Since everyone makes the same pay, this would simplify taxes. Rather than multiple deductions (taxes, Social Security, and Medicare) - we can have just one deduction to pay for all levels of government.

Government spending is currently running a bit over $7 trillion (link to debt clock).

Since a balanced budget is desirable - this works out to $42,311.86 per worker
($7,000,000,000,000 / 165,438,239).

So after paying for government, every worker will equally be left with $5,939.71 (about $495/mo or $114 per week).

Until we have the Department of Fairness, we'll just have to settle for the current taxing structure - even it that means more debt for now.

What else can we do in the mean time?

Bill Gates (article link) and Warren Buffett (article link) both agree they aren't paying enough in taxes. Fortunately, there's an easy fix - all they have to do is write a check to the government (instructions here).

President Trump has already donated his salary to various agencies.

Congress can at least reduce their pay to $48,251.57 just to show how fair and patriotic they are.

As Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi makes the most at $223,500 - so she can donate $175,248.43. Most Senators and Representatives make $174,000 meaning they can donate $125,748.43 for fairness. Socialist champions Bernie and AOC, being leaders, should do this immediately.

All other government workers at all levels should do the same because that's what patriots do.

Imagine union workers and leaders making their patriotic fair share.

Think of all those patriotic professors and college coaches taking only their fair share. That would reduce the cost of college making education more affordable.

Think of all those patriotic professional athletes only taking their fair share. That would allow for lower ticket prices where ordinary people could afford to go to the game again.

Think of all the patriotic performers earning their fair share. You could afford to go to the movies and concerts more often.

Think of all the patriotic media members working for their fair share - making news more affordable.

Think of all the patriotic medical staff, lawyers, and tech workers accepting only their fair share - making these services more affordable.

It wouldn't take much for the one-third of workers doing their patriotic duty, allowing the other two-thirds to make their fair share.

While contracts are being changed, Congress can change the tax code to collect all income over $928/week, which could then be passed on at tax filing time to make up the fair pay for the majority of workers.

But what about other income - business, investment, and retirement. What about children and people that can't work?

Stay tuned for Part 2.

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    John R. Ragan, Captain, USAFR (Ret), MBA, MS - your guide on our journey through The Financial State of the Union

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