Slop, Slop, and more Slop

Tyler Cowen discusses the difficulty of taxing Executive Pay. He presents a relatively lucid argument on the Subject, while I will come up with a more bewildering muddle–hopefully amusing. The first element of overwhelming importance is the fact they are in direct Contact with the Individuals setting up Payscales, if they are not those Individuals themselves; they can effectively lobby for higher Pay. It is a fact that the more incompetent Executives possess an intuitive understanding they will not last long in their positions, so they would have themselves paid as much as possible, as soon as possible. The third element is the fact that Profits are reported by these Individuals, who can scalp Past, Present, and Future Profits for inclusion within their Pay range and Pay Period. The fourth element states that they can co-opt the ability of subordinates as their own, simply by limiting subordinate access to the proper Decision-Makers on Pay. It is truly my assertion that Executive Payscales rest on the level of Incompetence of these Executives, not their ability; with successful Executives insisting on slightly better Pay than the trend-setting Scalpers. They all join in unified resistence to being taxed on this Income at the same rate as ordinary Mortals.

Peter Leeson can come up with a fallacious Argument, as well as this esteemed Author. The 18th Century pirates discussed were mildly democratic within their own group, though it tended to be more Mob Rule rather than formal structure. The actual fact was that if you were not a member of the Group–you were either co-opted into the Group, kidnaped for Ransom, or killed. There were groups within the Pirates of the Time themselves, and many of the Group were killed for their Wealth by other Group members once harbor was reached. There is also a form of heresy with the Leeson argument, suggesting only two Periods developing Pirates. The sad fact remains that Pirates have continuously operated since the 18th Century, and actually since before the Time of the Roman Empire. Everyone who were confronted by Pirates at all Times, suffered from loss and destruction of Property, loss of Wealth and Life. Successful Pirates rarely survive to peacefully retire, as they became Victims of Pirates with the development of Wealth. Fear of Oneself is a poor protection for Property, understood even by the most violent Pirate.

There has to be a huge amount of hubris in this entire Subject. First, the Concept of Penalty for early repayment of owed funds makes One feel you are being taxed for being a responsible individual. Still, there is the Concept of Contracts, and a Market in everything. You put something in a Contract, and well, it doesn’t sound quite as bad! The real rub comes when Contract detail extends beyond the small individual Rubes they were intended to squeeze, and reaches Those who designed the basic Contract format in the first place; sort of like getting caught in you own bear trap. Now the Government wants to treat these major Players just like they were the little guys, and the Government has more lawyers than the Players do. Wheels within wheels, and Marks complaining about the Government using their own Scams against themselves. What is the World coming to? lgl