When Mr. Pope first switched to a Roth 401(k), however, he took a cut in his take-home pay, and that, he says, is one reason people are wary of the Roth option.

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Instead, this year, his management team took a figurative bow, in the form of a 38% pay cut.

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Bullock took a pay cut to appear in The Blind Side, likely for a bigger share of the film's profits.

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In contrast, even Jamie Dimon took a pay cut this year when he messed up at JP Morgan Chase.

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The contemplated tax cut would pay for itself before it took effect, and it would produce a huge budget surplus in the year that it was enacted.

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