Welcome to an HBO podcast from the HBO late night series Real Time with Bill Maugh.

Okay, Katie, given the pay disparity between workers and CEO, hi.

We don't take any breaks here. We just should we have a maximum wage, a minimum wage on, yeah, that's been suggested FDR, certainly suggested it.

A maximum wage?

Yes, a limit, like, you know, 100% tax after if you make 10 million or whatever it would be.

Bill, I'm asking somebody...

Socialists.

This is somebody else's question and I think we should have a maximum wage.

I don't.

Wow.

I think that what we should do is have empowered people in this country, shareholders, workers, investors, and we should allow our capitalist economy to actually check the wages of CEOs.

That will work. It has worked in this country.

So should we have as a practical matter, a maximum wage, our wages too high.

Should the guy at Pfizer have gotten that much more money? Should Jamie Diamond be getting paid to say he'd think about it?

No, but to say there's going to be some automatic maximum wage or some perfect ratio, that's a recipe for messing with what's been worked in capitalism for all these years.

But...

But pricing, I would even like 10 billion a year.

In the 1950s, the top rate was 70%.

Yes.

Would you support a top rate of 70% on salary?

No, it was higher than that, I think.

Well, it was in 1990s, at one point.

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