File this one under S for “something you don’t see every day.” Reed Hastings, CEO of video rental giant Netflix, ran an op-ed piece in The New York Times today arguing that President Obama should sharply increase the taxes paid by executives of publicly traded companies.

Yes, “increase” — you read that right.

“President Obama should celebrate our success, rather than trying to shame us or cap our pay. But he should also take half of our huge earnings in taxes, instead of the current one-third,” Hastings argues. “Then, the next time a chief executive earns an eye-popping amount of money, we can cheer that half of it is going to pay for our soldiers, schools and security. Higher taxes on huge pay days can finance opportunity for the next generation of Americans.”

It’s not an argument that’s calculated to make Hastings the most popular guy in the country club, or, let’s face it, one that’s likely to gain much traction in policy-making circles. But, as Hastings points out, it’s surely a better idea than President Obama’s proposal of slapping a $500,000 cap on annual cash compensation for execs at companies that receive TARP aid, which would virtually guarantee that these troubled firms won’t be able to find the talent they’ll need to pull back from the precipice. (There’s more to Obama’s proposal than meets the eye, though, as Eric Krell points out here.)

Instead of caps and condemnations, Hastings proposes a top federal marginal tax rate of 50 percent on all income above $1 million per year. “Some will tell you that would reduce the incentive to earn, but I don’t see that as likely,” he adds, somewhat oddly. I’d see it as a practical certainty. The number of execs who would be willing to shrug off that loss of compensation as easily as Hastings does (“most of our motivation is the sheer challenge of the job anyway,” he writes) may not be as great as he thinks.

Still, kudos to this CEO for bringing a courageous and fresh view to a debate that’s currently mired in shame-slinging and knee-jerk reactions to the latest round of (admittedly scandalous) Wall Street bonuses and perks. ###