Drudge Retort: The Other Side of the News

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EBERLY

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www.pewresearch.org

Isn't it crazy Trump enjoys this kind of support from this group?

"Most people don't get paid in stock. Most people don't have large stock holdings that can make up for wages."

I don't disagree with campaign finance realities but below (to your point) is where this disparity started to really take off.

www.politico.com

In his 1992 campaign manifesto "Putting People First," Bill Clinton called for a strict cap on the tax deductibility of executive compensation. The sky would still be the limit for CEO pay levels, but anything above $1 million would not be considered a reasonable business expense worthy of a corporate tax deduction.

It was a solid plan to discourage out-sized paychecks. Too bad it didn't last.

After their election victory, Clinton's top economic advisers persuaded the president (over Labor Secretary Robert Reich's objections) to insert a huge loophole in his proposal. So-called "performance" pay, including stock options and certain bonuses, would be exempted from the deductibility cap. Congress passed this proposal as part of a larger tax bill in 1993. In response, companies began limiting salaries to around $1 million and defining the vast bulk of compensation as a reward for "performance."

Now, this was a team effort of a republican congress and a democratic party president eager to get something done.

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