Buffet: Stop coddling the super-rich

"My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It's time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice," The 80-year-old "Oracle of Omaha" wrote in an opinion article in The New York Times.

Buffett, one of the world's richest men and chairman of conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway Inc , said his federal tax bill last year was $6,938,744.

"That sounds like a lot of money. But what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income - and that's actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office. Their tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent," he said.

news.yahoo.com...

This shows how the tax system is currently skewed towards middle income earners over the wealthiest. Ironically, it's the same people at the top corrupting our government and skewing it to keep their own taxes low.

Good on Buffet for saying how it is.

This is from a bloomberg article (which goes into a bit more detail) on the same topic:

Millionaires

Buffett said that for those making more than $1 million -- there were 236,883 such households in 2009 -- he would raise rates immediately on taxable income in excess of $1 million, including dividends and capital gains. For the 8,274 taxpayers who made $10 million or more, he said they should get an additional increase in the rate.

“While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks,” Buffett wrote. He cited Internal Revenue Service data showing that the tax burden on the nation’s wealthy had fallen for the past two decades.

In 1992 the top 400 American earners had aggregate taxable income of $16.9 billion and paid federal taxes of 29.2 percent on that amount, he wrote. In 2008, while the aggregate income of the highest 400 had soared to $90.9 billion, the rate paid had fallen to 21.5 percent.

Hiring, Investment

Buffett said the notion that high taxes discourage hiring and investment is false. “I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone -- not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 -- shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain,” he said.

finance.yahoo.com...;_ylt=AiV5PQWo4BQgsAXc11GdKla7YWsA;_ylu=X3o'___'E1dWcyb2FzBHBvcwM3BHNlYwN 0b3BTdG9yaWVzBHNsawNidWZmZXR0dXJnZXM-?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=4&asset=&ccode=

Why doesnt Buffet set an example and send a 5 million dollar check to Washington?

newsbusters.org...

PAT BUCHANAN: No, I’m writing a note to Warren Buffett. But look, I’m a little fed up with these people who come on, you know, their big op-eds, all these admonitions. Why doesn’t he set an example and send a check for $5 billion to the federal government? He’s got about $40 billion. You know, you had a plan up there, I talked to Howie Carr at Boston where the super-rich could contribute an extra amount. It was something like one-tenth of one percent did it. You get all this noise from these big rich folks. Let them send checks and set an example instead of writing op-eds.

reply to post by Gannicus


Give a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime...

Buffet is no idiot.. he knows if he sends a check like that to Washington, it will be wasted.

Buffet should send the U.S govt extra money, if he wants to fund the U.S evil ways, fine more power to him. But calling for others to be coerced into paying more taxes is foolish if he doesn't lead by example.

He also claims his employees pay more in taxes than he does, why not lobby for lower taxes for his employees then?

Buffet Should write another check and send it to D.C (because it hurts the ideas I advocate when a
Billionaire does not go along with the idea that they are being punished for success)

Maybe he should shut up, or get Executive experience, that is very important you know

Warren is going hungry!!!

What if Warren wants to go to the store and buy a Coke?

Some lazy union thug, swiping his ACORN card at SOROs mart taking Warren's soda from him

PERRY 2012!

This is the nature of Capitalism and the distribution of Capital. As well as the nature of taxable income.

Any American can invest in Municipal Bonds for example.

But do most Americans ?

In case you didn't know, Municipal Bonds provide TAX FREE INCOME.....this is an example of how the "Rich" such as Buffet, pay so little in Taxes.

But it is also how Municipalities raise the necessary capital to build our infrastructure.
So, this is the reward to those who trust as in lending their capital by investing in these Bonds such as Buffet.

But do most Americans squirrel a little money away to buy their local Municipalitie's Bonds ?
Do most Americans even know what a Muni is ?

Or is it more important to drive that new Truck ? Or to have a bigger Wide Screen TV than the Neighbors ?

This is why the Rich get Richer and the Poor get Poorer.
Unfortunately It has much to do with denying Ignorance.

Plain and Simple.

reply to post by Janky Red

Buffet Should write another check and send it to D.C (because it hurts the ideas I advocate when a Billionaire does not go along with the idea that they are being punished for success)

He has over 50 billion dollars, if he really cared he could fund the entire govt for a day or two.

Originally posted by Rockdisjoint
reply to post by Janky Red

 

Buffet Should write another check and send it to D.C (because it hurts the ideas I advocate when a Billionaire does not go along with the idea that they are being punished for success)

He has over 50 billion dollars, if he really cared he could fund the entire govt for a day or two.

edit on 15-8-2011 by Rockdisjoint because: if

He has much more than 50 Billion dollars in assets

Buffet does not go hungry or cry over 17% of his massive income

This country used to tax people like Buffet at 90%

You guys keep telling us that things will get better once these people pay nothing...

Fact is America is getting worse

All of the reasons given don't materialize, Buffet STILL has more money than entire countries

reply to post by Janky Red


If it makes you feel better, go ahead and tax him and the other billionaires. When that does nothing to improve the economic situation, go ahead and tax the folks with over $100M and then on down to $1M in annual income. Pretty soon you'll be down to the middle class and raising their tax rates.

It is fine to espouse what ever tax policy you want to. All ideas are legitimate. Lets all be honest and call them what they are. They are not economic solutions. They are feel good policies that do absolutely nothing other than penalize the successful. If thats what you want to do, fine, just be honest and call it what it is.

It will mean nothing to the wealthy and won't do anything to support jobs nor economic growth, actually just the opposite, but thats OK, it will make you feel better.

Buffet is a tool. He castigates those who invest with a different model than he does and always has. Most people don't want to nor can many afford to buy stocks and hold them for 10+ years.

What Buffett is essentially suggesting is that the level of double taxation be increased for investment income. The money invested obviously being taxed once and then again on an annual basis via investment gains. Taxing income twice, either through a capital gains tax or an estate tax is double taxation. Both of which are confiscatory and should be eliminated.

reply to post by Janky Red

He has much more than 50 Billion dollars in assets

I said ``over``.

Buffet does not go hungry or cry over 17% of his massive income

If he even pays taxes, I have a feeling the high tax supporters aren't the people paying the high taxes. I wonder how many tax lawyers he has.

This country used to tax people like Buffet at 90%

After WW2, yes.

You guys keep telling us that things will get better once these people pay nothing...

No, I said things will get better once we turn back into a producing, savings and investments style nation.

Fact is America is getting worse

That's because you're only looking at G.

All of the reasons given don't materialize, Buffet STILL has more money than entire countries

Fine and he wants to pay more taxes and I said let him.

Originally posted by dolphinfan
reply to post by Janky Red

 

If it makes you feel better, go ahead and tax him and the other billionaires. When that does nothing to improve the economic situation, go ahead and tax the folks with over $100M and then on down to $1M in annual income. Pretty soon you'll be down to the middle class and raising their tax rates.

It is fine to espouse what ever tax policy you want to. All ideas are legitimate. Lets all be honest and call them what they are. They are not economic solutions. They are feel good policies that do absolutely nothing other than penalize the successful. If thats what you want to do, fine, just be honest and call it what it is.

It will mean nothing to the wealthy and won't do anything to support jobs nor economic growth, actually just the opposite, but thats OK, it will make you feel better.

Buffet is a tool. He castigates those who invest with a different model than he does and always has. Most people don't want to nor can many afford to buy stocks and hold them for 10+ years.

What Buffett is essentially suggesting is that the level of double taxation be increased for investment income. The money invested obviously being taxed once and then again on an annual basis via investment gains. Taxing income twice, either through a capital gains tax or an estate tax is double taxation. Both of which are confiscatory and should be eliminated.

You would think Buffet would be smart enough to know the truth.
Robbing the rich will just take money away from the capitalists.
Capitalists start up corporations and create jobs.
The current situation is bad enough with Obama throwing a wet blanket over
free market capitalism.
-----------
Obama on the other hand creates a bunch of nonperforming government jobs and then runs around
declaring we should - save - those jobs.

I appreciate Buffet's honesty.

It speaks volumes that he can say so, and yet still the super-rich lobby can push their agenda to the point of destruction of their economies. Their greed outweighs their sense.

And if what the above poster says is true - "they" create jobs, then their greed and lack of vision will pull everyone down with them.

But it isn't true. The taxpayer funds and gives supporting infrastructure to every part of their endevours. From roads to move their goods, to educated populace to run them. At every junction, the super-rich rely on society to do for them.

i think buffet is senile

he if he wants to give more moeny feel free to and he knows the value of his money depends on the current market prices that can be whiped out in a matter of minutes.

berkshire is a holding company which means all he does is go around buying up other company stock.

how smart can buffet be anyway when bill gates said hey warren give haldf your fortunate away.

go ahead and raise taxes and just throw good money after bad money wasted.

that guy is a billionaire? hes a joke

Good thing Steve Jobs only gets paid $1 and Larry Ellison gets paid in Yachts and Picassos.

Originally posted by Eurisko2012

You would think Buffet would be smart enough to know the truth.
Robbing the rich will just take money away from the capitalists.
Capitalists start up corporations and create jobs.

Yes they do. Jobs in India and China, for the most part.

Just keep licking your corporate masters' palms. You aren't part of the club, you will never be invited, and your masters laugh at an easy mark like you who will parrot propaganda for free even as they pick your pocket, drain your bank account, and send your work overseas.

sorry dbl post