While a great deal of public anger is focused at corporate executives these days, Johnny Depp and the Boys of Summer don’t fare much better. Thirty percent (30%) of Americans believe the government should make it illegal to pay movie stars and athletes more than $1 million per year.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 59% oppose government pay limits for film stars and jocks.

There is a more support—but not much more--for capping the pay of corporate executives. Thirty-six percent (36%) say the federal government should make it illegal to pay any executive more than $1 million a year. The majority (54%), however, disagree.

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Professional golfer Tiger Woods is the highest–paid athlete in America for the fifth year in a row, earning $128 million in 2007, according to Sports Illustrated.

Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, Eddie Murphy, Tom Cruise, John Travolta. Nicolas Cage, Julia Roberts and Will Smith are the highest-paid movie stars, earning $20 million or more per film, according to the website Hollywood.com.

John A. Thain, head of Merrill Lynch, was the highest compensated CEO in 2007, earning nearly $84 million, the New York Times reported. Merrill Lynch, facing insolvency following the collapse of the subprime mortgage market, merged with Bank of America last year.

Most Americans believe the government should regulate executive pay and bonuses only at companies kept in business with taxpayer money. The findings follow public outrage over executive bonuses paid out by American International Group (AIG) after it received a $170 billion taxpayer bailout.

Before the survey, participants at the Rasmussen Prediction Center displayed a pretty good sense of their fellow Americans. They predicted that 32% would favor making it illegal to pay actors and athletes more than $1 million a year. Take a moment to predict where the President’s Approval Index will be at the 100 day mark of his Administration, who will win the World Series, and more.

Women favor limiting the earnings of athletes and film stars more than men. Thirty-five percent (35%) of women say the government should put a $1 million cap on their annual salaries, compared to 25% of men.

Younger Americans tend to favor government limits on celebrity salaries more than their elders. Lower income Americans like them more than those whose annual salaries are higher.

Forty-two percent (42%) of women think a government limit on executive salaries is a good idea, compared to 29% of men.

Higher-income Americans are more opposed to setting a $1 million limit on executives than those who earn less. Fifty percent (50%) of those who earn under $20,000 annually favor a government-imposed limit on executive pay versus 15% of those who earn more than $100,000 per year.

Sixty-six percent (66%) of investors are against the $1 million cap, while non-investors are fairly evenly divided on the question.

After the recent wave of bankruptcies and bailouts, Americans view of corporate CEO’s have hit rock bottom, even lower than members of Congress.

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