# What was "the Ceiling" from WWII Era. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 19, 2015, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-ceiling-from-wwii-era/713083 "2015-02-19T13:54:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Carryon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Carryon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carryon)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-ceiling-from-wwii-era/713083/1 "2015-02-19T13:54:11Z")
I’ve been listening to some old time radio shows and was wondering what this was. (From Burns and Allen) The joke went like this: Gracie Allen) What would you like to buy? Man) I don’t know, what with rationing, the $25,000 ceiling and the fact I haven’t worked since 1929… OK, the joke was the guy hadn’t worked, and I get WWII rationing, but what is the ceiling? I am guessing it’s a limit on the amount you can buy? But I was wondering if anyone had any firm information. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-ceiling-from-wwii-era/713083/2 "2015-02-19T14:16:42Z")
FDR’s “supertax”? > [@](#): > > On April 27, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to cap the income that any one American could claim and keep. With the United States in “grave national danger,” said Roosevelt, “no American citizen ought to have a net income, after he has paid his taxes, of more than $25,000 a year.” That would be the equivalent of an income a bit above $200,000 today. > > The Treasury Department subsequently fleshed out F.D.R.'s proposal in testimony before Congress. If his “100% war supertax” was enacted, Treasury officials testified, single persons whose before-tax income was $40,000 would be left with $25,000 after the standard tax rates had been applied. Any dollar of income above the $40,000 would be taxed away. For married couples, Roosevelt’s 100% supertax would have kicked in on all income of more than $110,000. > > General public reaction to Roosevelt’s proposal was positive. Average Americans seemed delighted. Quipped actress Ann Sheridan, then earning considerably more than $100,000, the equivalent of more than $800,000 today: “I regret that I have only one salary to give to my country.” > > In the end, Roosevelt’s maximum-wage proposal proved too radical for Congress to swallow. But Roosevelt’s 100% supertax proposal did have a powerful impact on congressional debate. Full article here: > **[How About a Maximum Wage? : Taxation: F.D.R. wanted to cap incomes of the...](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-04-08-me-457-story.html)** > > Tax-the-rich rhetoric is back in style--for good reason. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-ceiling-from-wwii-era/713083/3 "2015-02-19T14:29:57Z")
What was the average and median income in the US back in the day? I think most people probably supported it because it wasn’t going to impact them or anyone they knew. ---
**Author:** ![Carryon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Carryon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carryon)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-ceiling-from-wwii-era/713083/4 "2015-02-19T14:37:19Z")
Well that was quick, and thank you. I wonder if this ties into the fact stars like Jack Benny chose to purchase their shows and take low salaries and got their income from owning the shows. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-ceiling-from-wwii-era/713083/5 "2015-02-19T14:48:17Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > What was the average and median income in the US back in the day? I think most people probably supported it because it wasn’t going to impact them or anyone they knew. This page from the September 30, 1942 Chicago Tribune has a graphic of the U.S. showing the “median male wage” by state. The U.S. average is given as $1,002. Three states (California, Nevada, and Michigan) are over $1,200, and several of the southern states are under $600. > **[Chicago Tribune](https://www.chicagotribune.com)** > > Get Chicago news and Illinois news from The Chicago Tribune ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2015, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-ceiling-from-wwii-era/713083/6 "2015-02-19T14:52:35Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > What was the average and median income in the US back in the day? I think most people probably supported it because it wasn’t going to impact them or anyone they knew. The mean annual wage was $[1,500](http://historicaltextarchive.com/sections.php?action=read&artid=250). It’s hard to find household income numbers because the feds only seem to publish them from 1967 and later. $25,000 is about $360,000 in today’s money (that LA Times article is from 1992.) $1,500 is a little under $22,000 today; national average wages today are [about $45,000](http://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/AWI.html).