Portland cracked down on income equality in the best possible way

Impact

Portland, Oregon, came up with a bold policy to close the city's inequality gap once and for all. 

Recently, the city voted in favor of a measure that punishes companies that pay exorbitant salaries to CEOs. Bloated salaries to top executives are a major driver of inequality across the United States, where the average CEO earns more than 200 times what median employees make. In 2015, the average salary for a CEO was $19.3 million. 

The measure requires that a CEO make no more than 100 times what their workers earn. Companies that don't comply with this rule will face a 10% surtax, and any fines collected will be allocated to basic public services such as housing, as well as police and firefighter salaries, according to the New York Times.

Portland estimates it could generate $2.5 million to $3.5 million a year from the new tax measure.