What's a high income in the United States? Right now, ask 10 Americans and you'll probably get 10 answers.

The reason the topic is mentioned here is that views on income help determine U.S. income tax policy: they help push the U.S. Congress in one direction or the other.

You don't have to be a U.S. Department of Labor statistician to know the trend in the United States regarding wages and salaries: they're heading lower, in many job categories.

And the reasons are complex: globalization, automation, and lack of unionization have driven real wages and salaries for many job segments down to decade-long lows, and in some cases to levels not seen in more than a generation.

The latest proposal from the Obama administration is that the salaries of the executives at firms that take TARP money will be capped at $500,000. While it is not clear which companies will be included, it may be that much of the banking industry will be.

The program may not be as tough as one that was proposed to cap the compensation of every banker on Wall Street at $400,000. But, if the top executives at these firms see the trend going that way, how long will they stay in their current jobs?

For years, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs has slaved away at the company he founded for a measly $1 per year, plus a few shares of stock here and there. Not that I feel too badly for the guy ... when Forbes released its latest list of billionaires, Jobs ranked 132, with a net worth of $5.7 billion. He reportedly holds 5.5 million shares of AAPL stock, which currently hold a theoretical value of $907,000,000. And in 2000, Apple's board supplemented Jobs' $1 salary with a Gulfstream jet worth about $46 million.

Still ... a self-made man who could step out on his brainchild and draw a mammoth salary anywhere on Wall Street has stayed true to Apple and been instrumental in turning the company around. And continued to pay himself a negligible salary each year.

With the stock at an all-time high, iPhone and iPod sales continuing to trump estimates, and the Leopard operating system earning good marks, the company feels it may be time for a salary bump for Jobs. One section in Apple's annual report, filed yesterday, reads: "Because Mr. Jobs's continued leadership is critical to Apple, the Compensation Committee is considering additional compensation arrangements for him."

I doubt Jobs has any plans to go anywhere, but at least he's not being taken for granted.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

Corporate governance experts will tell you that executives generally perform best when their interests are aligned with those of their shareholders -- a CEO who owns a big chunk of stock tends to be more concerned about the interests of investors. After all, he is one! But does the same idea apply to baseball players?

Alex Rodriguez's super agent Scott Boras is said to be looking for a 10-year, $300 million deal for the star, and The Wall Street Journal has an idea (subscription required) for a novel way for a team to come up with the cash:

That is an awful lot for any team without the Yankees' payroll to commit to. But what if, as with a Wall Street firm, a chunk of it came in the form of equity? Such risk-sharing might be attractive for some team owners, though the compensation might need to be deferred to comply with league rules...

It sounds like an interesting idea. It might encourage Rodriguez, who has developed a reputation for being enigmatic at time, to engage in PR activities and really add value to the team, on and off the field.

It's probably a long shot, but definitely interesting to think about.

Yesterday, during the Boston Red Sox' sweep of the upstart and exciting Colorado Rockies, crybaby extraordinaire Alex Rodriguez decided it was "the time" to announce he was opting out of his contract with the New York Yankees and filing for free agency. He had to make a decision within 10 days after the World Series ended, not within 10 minutes of the start of Game 4.

What a selfish, self-centered you-know-what. This guy is a total and complete goofball. Sure his stats are fearsome, but he has never won at any level a championship. He had great numbers on flailing Seattle Mariner and Texas Ranger teams, but both rarely played .500 ball. After four seasons with the Yankees, Mr. No-October has taken the chicken's way out. The attempt to upstage the Red Sox and Rockies should not be forgiven nor forgotten by the baseball brethren.

This guy comes to New York and played next to Derek Jeter -- a real ball player. Jeter will never hit the home runs that A-Rod does -- Jeter has 195 career home runs in 12 seasons, compared to Rodriguez's 500 and some. But Jeter has won more games than A-Rod ever will. Derek Jeter may be one of the most clutch players and hitters to ever play the game. Jeter may go 0-4 in a game but make a diving stop at shortstop to kill an opponent's rally. Jeter may get the stolen base at the right time to start a rally: Jeter will sacrifice himself and hit the ball to the right side to move a teammate. Bottom line, Jeter is the complete player. With him, it's all about team.

With A-Rod -- it's all about him. In the playoffs, Rodriguez has been a total and miserable failure. Jeter is clutch. In the playoffs, year-in and year-out, Derek Jeter is the toughest out. Rodriguez is 0-18 in the playoffs with runners in scoring position: the ultimate barometer.

The Boston Red Sox won the World Series last night, so what is the baseball world buzzing about today? In the same way that the antics of train wrecks like Britney Spears steal headlines away from others with worthy accomplishments, we are writing about the Yankees and their messy divorce from future Hall-of-Famer Alex Rodriguez. Yesterday, A-Rod's agent, Scott Boras, announced that the third-sacker would take his option to terminate his 10-year, $252 million contract early and put himself up for auction.

In the typical classy Yankee way, Steinbrenner the Lesser, Hank, took the opportunity to blast the player, telling the New York Daily News, "He doesn't understand the privilege of being a Yankee on a team where the owners are willing to pay $200 million to put a winning product on the field."

After years of being crucified by the New York press, fans and front office for failing to hit enough to overcome a minor-league starting rotation and a gaggle of overpaid, over-aged teammates, who wouldn't want out?

The question now is who will step forward to pay A-Rod more than his previous contract? No other team enjoys the Yankees' attendance or media income. Fortunately, we're not talking Wall Street, but baseball, and business economics are not its forte. Remember that A-Rod signed his huge contract with Texas, who, when they came back to their senses and realized they couldn't cover that salary, were forced to deal him to New York while agreeing still to cover part of his salary.

Boras, known as the superagent, is too shrewd to make such a move without confidence that a least a couple of teams will contend to sign the best player in baseball. The Chicago Cubs could use his talents, although last year's signing of Alfonso Soriano tied up a lot of Chicago's cash. The Cubs could also go on the block soon, as well, and a lot of debt might not help that.

A new government report shows that American salaries fell in 2005 for the fifth straight year in a row. During 2005 the average income for American workers came out to be $55,238, which is roughly 1% less than the 2000 national average of $55,714.

For those of us who were born in a post World War II world, this is definitely a trend that we are not used to seeing. Since the end of WWII, there was only one year on record when the average income of Americans fell. But that all changed in 2001 which started the five-year slide between 2001 and 2005.

While the national average was lower in 2005 than it was in 2000, the total incomes of all Americans did rise during the period but so did the actual number of people working, which led to the lower average.

Think before you answer.

What would a $200,000 salary get you in New York, and what in Cleveland? Well, let's strip it down:

• What would be your purchasing power after accounting for the cost of living? New York's cost of living, for example, is double the national average.
• What about effective tax rates? The tax rate in New York is 25.4% for the $200K salary vs. a tax rate of 20.4% in Cleveland for the $100K salary.
• Different inflation rates? May annual inflation rate in New York metropolitan area was 4.8%, in Cleveland, the rate was 3%.

All these should be considered before deciding. So, have you changed your answer?

Let's start by saying that if you have that choice (of making a six figure salary), then congratulations are in order. You are part of the 5% of Americans who do (according to 2004 census reports). But the real question is - where do you live?

CNNMoney.com used data from 6FigureJobs.com and TheLadders.com to figure out the equivalent of $100,000 after adjusting for the cost of living in the top cities that have the largest numbers of six figures jobs listings. In New York, a $100,000 equivalent salary would require a salary of over $205,000, in Boston more than $137,000, about $101,000 in Cleveland and less than $89,000 in Houston.

So while many six figure jobs are indeed offered in higher cost of living areas, there are still many cities such as Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Cleveland and Denver as well as a few others that also have relatively high numbers of six figures jobs to offer. And as if that isn't enough to convince you, sometimes, just to attract talent, companies in those "lesser" cities would offer the same high salaries as in, say, New York.