Warren Buffett: "Stop coddling the super-rich."

[woo me with science]

http://news.yahoo.com/stop-coddling-super-rich-buffett-084140678.html

Stop coddling the super-rich: Buffett
By Santosh Nadgir, Reuters


BANGALORE (Reuters) - Billionaire Warren Buffett urged U.S. lawmakers to raise taxes on the country's super-rich to help cut the budget deficit, saying such a move will not hurt investments.

"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.

Lawmakers engaged in a partisan battle over spending and taxes for more than three months before agreeing on August 2 to raise the $14.3 trillion U.S. debt ceiling, avoiding a U.S. default.

"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," Buffett said.

Buffett said higher taxes for the rich will not discourage investment.

"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

"People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off."

(Reporting by Santosh Nadgir; Editing by David Holmes)

[fascisthunter]

1. Is It Occurring to anyone else, that Buffet see's the big picture

and thinks what the Milton Friedman ideological fanatics are doing is suicidal to the country as a WHOLE?

[cottage10]

2. Thank you Warren!

He always seems to be a straight shooter, maybe people will start to listen. It disgusts me that some of the same people that think it is okay to ask soldiers to sacrifice their lives for this country won't demand that the wealthy (who are doing better than ever) to sacrifice some of their money.

[AnnaLee]

3. Wait a minute. All of what Buffett said.

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


The text above is an edit of the NYT opinion piece. I will add just one more ppg.:
"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. "

So his solution is to gut the cash flow to SS and raise tax on the few that are in the top .3%. So tell me, whose "taxes" (burdens) really go up in the long run?

[indepat]

4. As Warren B. implores the Congress to stop coddling the super-rich, a corrupt and venal Congress

is licking its chops at the opportunity given it by a democratic president to eviscerate social security and Medicare so the super-rich can continue their 30+-year feeding frenzy sucking at the public welfare teat: surely this is one of the most craven, disgustingly immoral acts a government of a supposed democratic society has ever perpetrated on its people, its old, frail, and poor and is surely a violation of duty, equity, fairness, reason and good faith, to wit, our government has demonstrated its inability to govern and the people's only rational option for redress is to avail itself of every constitutional remedy. :patriot:

[marions ghost]

7. well said

explain "every constitutional remedy"...

[indepat]

8. The only ones this bunny knows of are in the Constitution, whatever they are

;)

[amborin]

5. kr

[sfpcjock]

6. Thank you, Warren, I will even buy Geico and rate my liar loans with Moodys, bro.

He is sensible.

Buffett would really like you to know about:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1740594&mesg_id=1740594"> Super Rich - The Greed Game, BBC Doc

[Dawson Leery]

9. kick