WARREN BUFFET: "Stop Coddling the Super-Rich"

[BigBearJohn]

OUR leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.” But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched.

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. Some of us are investment managers who earn billions from our daily labors but are allowed to classify our income as “carried interest,” thereby getting a bargain 15 percent tax rate. Others own stock index futures for 10 minutes and have 60 percent of their gain taxed at 15 percent, as if they’d been long-term investors.

These and other blessings are showered upon us by legislators in Washington who feel compelled to protect us, much as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species. It’s nice to have friends in high places.

Last year my federal tax bill — the income tax I paid, as well as payroll taxes paid by me and on my behalf — 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.

MORE: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/opinion/stop-coddling-the-super-rich.html?_r=1&seid=auto&smid=tw-nytimesbusiness&pagewanted=print

[Ruby the Liberal]

1. Preach it!

Warren :loveya: Thanks for standing up on this (AGAIN). Maybe by the year 2020, someone will listen to you, sir.

k&r

[Electric Monk]

2. Get thee to the Greatest Page!

[supraTruth]

3. SERIOUSLY, HOW DO the tCONS IGNORE his words?

It's like they have a DEATH WISH for America & themselves.

[xchrom]

4. Recommend

[trueblue2007]

5. LAST PART OF THIS ARTICLE IS THE BEST!!!

I know well many of the mega-rich and, by and large, they are very decent people. They love America and appreciate the opportunity this country has given them. Many have joined the Giving Pledge, promising to give most of their wealth to philanthropy. Most wouldn’t mind being told to pay more in taxes as well, particularly when so many of their fellow citizens are truly suffering.

Twelve members of Congress will soon take on the crucial job of rearranging our country’s finances. They’ve been instructed to devise a plan that reduces the 10-year deficit by at least $1.5 trillion. It’s vital, however, that they achieve far more than that. Americans are rapidly losing faith in the ability of Congress to deal with our country’s fiscal problems. Only action that is immediate, real and very substantial will prevent that doubt from morphing into hopelessness. That feeling can create its own reality.

Job one for the 12 is to pare down some future promises that even a rich America can’t fulfill. Big money must be saved here. The 12 should then turn to the issue of revenues. I would leave rates for 99.7 percent of taxpayers unchanged and continue the current 2-percentage-point reduction in the employee contribution to the payroll tax. This cut helps the poor and the middle class, who need every break they can get.

But for those making more than $1 million — there were 236,883 such households in 2009 — I would raise rates immediately on taxable income in excess of $1 million, including, of course, dividends and capital gains. And for those who make $10 million or more — there were 8,274 in 2009 — I would suggest an additional increase in rate.

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.

[Raine]

6. That's WONDERFUL to read

I'm so glad to find out that they aren't all greedy selfish pigs and some do care about their fellow American.

[marions ghost]

9. Dunno if

you can take it to mean he "cares about fellow Americans."

It's just good business sense when you see the potential for collapse. Probably some guilt in there on his part but mostly just a warning that we may be at the tipping point. You want to say, "So Warren...where've ya been all this time?"

Yes I'm glad he's saying it, but I doubt he's noble and caring. Just smart and pragmatic.

[arbusto_baboso]

13. Why do noble and caring have to be at odds with smart and pragmatic?

In fact, I find that all those qualities usually coincide.

[marions ghost]

17. Not saying they're at odds...

just saying that a lot of time (esp with the rich) you see "smart and pragmatic" without ANY noble and caring whatsoever. I have learned never to equate the two.

Because somebody says what you want to hear does not make them "caring."

[arbusto_baboso]

18. True, there not anything resembling scientific correllation.

However, I've usually found that the caring and noble course of action turns out - in the long-term view - to also be smart and pragmatic.

Of course, randians laugh at me, but fuck them.

[marions ghost]

19. If only they were teaching that in business schools.

:shrug:

[arbusto_baboso]

20. Hell most megacorps can't even TELL what's in their own best interests any more.

They just grab for the biggest quarterly profits, even if it totally screws over their own prospects.

[Schema Thing]

15. where has he been all this time?

he's been advocating for this for years.

[yurbud]

12. he needs to set up a shell corporation to funnel donations to politicians to bribe them

to do this.

[cutlassmama]

7. How refreshing. I thought they all didn't care about America, only about the dollars.

[Trillo]

8. Big Money....

"blessings are showered upon us by legislators in Washington who feel compelled to protect us"

"They’ve been instructed to devise a plan"

"Big money must be saved here."

[trueblue2007]

10. just heard about this news article on msnbc

[yurbud]

11. it's too bad no one in Washington is listening, at least not with the power to do anything about it

[senseandsensibility]

14. K and R

Love him.

[RainDog]

16. k&r n/t