Brian Damage
03-27-2009, 10:07 PM
Call it the A-Rod tax.
One in three Americans believe the government should make it illegal to pay athletes and movie stars more than $1 million per year, according to a new poll.
A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey released Thursday found that 30 percent favor government pay limits for jocks and film stars.
There is more support for capping the pay of corporate executives - with 36 percent saying the federal government should make it illegal to pay any company exec more than $1 million a year.
Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez, who has admitted to using steriods, is the highest-paid baseball player in the major leagues, pocketing an annual paycheck of $32 million.
Golfer Tiger Woods is the highest-paid athlete in the country for the fifth year in a row, earning a staggering $128 million in 2007.
Movie stars Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, Eddie Murphy, Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Julia Roberts and Will Smith are the highest-paid movie stars, earning upwards of $20 million or more per flick, according to Hollywood.com.
On the corporate side, John Thain, head of Merrill Lynch, was the highest compensated CEO in 2007, earning nearly $84 million.
Merrill Lynch, which went bankrupt following the collapse of the subprime mortgage market, merged with Bank of America last year.
The poll found that women favor limiting the earnings of athletes and film stars more than men.
Thirty-five percent of women said the feds should put a $1 million cap on their annual salaries, compared to just 25 percent of men.
Higher-income Americans were more opposed to setting a $1 million limit on executives than those who earn less.
The survey also found that 50 percent of those who earn under $20,000 a year favored a government-imposed limit on executive pay versus just 15 percent of those who earn more than $100,000 per year.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/03272009/news/nationalnews/poll__1_in_3_favor_salary_cap_on_athlete_161629.htm
One in three Americans believe the government should make it illegal to pay athletes and movie stars more than $1 million per year, according to a new poll.
A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey released Thursday found that 30 percent favor government pay limits for jocks and film stars.
There is more support for capping the pay of corporate executives - with 36 percent saying the federal government should make it illegal to pay any company exec more than $1 million a year.
Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez, who has admitted to using steriods, is the highest-paid baseball player in the major leagues, pocketing an annual paycheck of $32 million.
Golfer Tiger Woods is the highest-paid athlete in the country for the fifth year in a row, earning a staggering $128 million in 2007.
Movie stars Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, Eddie Murphy, Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Julia Roberts and Will Smith are the highest-paid movie stars, earning upwards of $20 million or more per flick, according to Hollywood.com.
On the corporate side, John Thain, head of Merrill Lynch, was the highest compensated CEO in 2007, earning nearly $84 million.
Merrill Lynch, which went bankrupt following the collapse of the subprime mortgage market, merged with Bank of America last year.
The poll found that women favor limiting the earnings of athletes and film stars more than men.
Thirty-five percent of women said the feds should put a $1 million cap on their annual salaries, compared to just 25 percent of men.
Higher-income Americans were more opposed to setting a $1 million limit on executives than those who earn less.
The survey also found that 50 percent of those who earn under $20,000 a year favored a government-imposed limit on executive pay versus just 15 percent of those who earn more than $100,000 per year.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/03272009/news/nationalnews/poll__1_in_3_favor_salary_cap_on_athlete_161629.htm