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Warren Buffett - Stop Coddling the Super Rich

Discussion in 'Tilted Philosophy, Politics, and Economics' started by Derwood, Aug 15, 2011.

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  1. Derwood

    Derwood Slightly Tilted

    Location:
    Columbus, OH
    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/opinion/stop-coddling-the-super-rich.html?_r=2

    I always find Warren Buffett to be fascinating reading. He's the one mega-rich guy who is willing to speak on behalf of his tax bracket. 99.9% of the time, we hear Congressmen or talking heads (or even average lower/middle class folks) white knighting the mega-rich, going to bat for them at every opportunity. People constantly vote against their own self interests in order to protect the mega-rich, for many (false) reasons that Buffett outlines in this editorial.

    I think this article needs to be re-tweeted/posted on every facebook page to get a different perspective into the conversation
     
    Derwood, Aug 15, 2011
    #1
  2. flat5

    flat5 Vertical

    Location:
    Amsterdam, NL
    I just read this and then came here. I'm not holding my breath. He might as well preach peace and love.
     
    flat5, Aug 15, 2011
    #2
  3. Derwood

    Derwood Slightly Tilted

    Location:
    Columbus, OH
    It certainly doesn't fit the pre-written D.C. narrative, thus it will be summarily dismissed.

    Especially since it's from that LIBERAL SOCIALIST RAG, the NY Times
     
    Derwood, Aug 15, 2011
    #3
  4. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    I'm glad he pointed out the fallacy that higher taxes discourage rich people from wanting to get richer by moving money around. It's ridiculous.
     
    Baraka_Guru, Aug 15, 2011
    #4
  5. XAZY

    Xazy Vertical

    Warren Buffet has written about this numerously over the past few years. I cannot find it but he had a piece showing how they skirt the tax laws and the loopholes. I definitely feel that a tax rate for people making million+ and ten million+ would be a very good step to helping the country financials get in line.
     
    Xazy, Aug 15, 2011
    #5
  6. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    Well, clearly the wealthy have done a fine job of capturing a lot of the wealth generated by the public.

    Now, is this just a case of Warren Buffett becoming too impatient while he waits for the trickling to start? I mean, the trickling is going to start soon, right...?

    ...right...?
     
    Baraka_Guru, Aug 15, 2011
    #6
  7. Bodkin van Horn

    Bodkin van Horn One of the Four Horsewomyn of the Fempocalypse

    Location:
    Inside The Nucleus of Feminism
    Who pays 15% on 10 million and says to themselves "I don't have enough money"?

    If people are worried about rich people not wanting to invest if taxes are raised, I have an idea. Every year, we'll take every person with a net worth greater than 10 million, take all but a million and split the rest up, by the million, at random, amongst members of the lower economic classes. I bet that provides more of a trickle down effect than anything that's happened in the last ten years. The numbers probably need to be tweaked a bit.
     
    Bodkin van Horn, Aug 15, 2011
    #7
  8. Perfxion

    Perfxion Vertical

    Location:
    From the great state of Houston
    The problem isn't just that congress is coddling the super rich. The issues is the amount of "Lewinsky Love" in DC. They pay less percentage than the middle class. And if we are on an elevated tax scale how come its 0 for the bottom 20%, 35% for the middle 60%, and seemingly 15% for the top 20 percent. Fixing the tax code itself will make things a whole lot better.
     
    Perfxion, Aug 15, 2011
    #8
  9. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    And then you have people such as Rick Perry, who says things like this on the day he announces he's running for president: "“We’re dismayed at the injustice that nearly half of all Americans don’t even pay any income tax.”

    In case you're wondering, the majority of those who don't even pay any income tax belong to the bottom 40% of earners in the country. They don't pay any income tax because they don't even earn enough to qualify.

    Perry is dismayed that these people aren't paying any income tax on their earnings. Perry is dismayed at such injustice.
     
    Baraka_Guru, Aug 16, 2011
    #9
  10. Charlatan

    Charlatan sous les pavés, la plage

    Location:
    Temasek
    Perry is an idiot to be dismissed.
     
    Charlatan, Aug 16, 2011
    #10
  11. Perfxion

    Perfxion Vertical

    Location:
    From the great state of Houston
    The problem with the 50% of the country not paying taxes comes from this issue: infants to 22 year olds who full time job is only education and play time are earning how much, thus paying what?

    Its a census statement to an income issue. Its logical that a 6 year old would not pay any taxes.
     
    Perfxion, Aug 16, 2011
    #11
  12. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    It's also more generally the idea that nearly everyone who makes less than $10,000 pays a net $0 in federal income taxes. So this excludes the six-year-olds and focuses on those of legal working age earning an income, no matter how paltry.

    I'm pretty sure this is the injustice Perry is dismayed about.
     
    Baraka_Guru, Aug 16, 2011
    #12
  13. MSD

    MSD Very Tilted

    Location:
    CT
    Just in case anyone missed it, 88 of the richest 400 taxpayers in the US paid no income tax in 2008. The answer is simple to me: tax capital gains as income. Income by any other name is still a number written in black ink.
     
    MSD, Aug 16, 2011
    #13
  14. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    Aren't capital gains currently taxed as income?
     
    Baraka_Guru, Aug 16, 2011
    #14
  15. Derwood

    Derwood Slightly Tilted

    Location:
    Columbus, OH
    at just 15%
     
    Derwood, Aug 16, 2011
    #15
  16. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    Yeah, I looked it up. It's described as a preferential rate to "encourage investing" or something.

    That's pretty low. Here, for example, capital gains are taxed at 50% retained earnings at one's marginal tax rate, which basically means that 50% of your net capital gains earnings are taxed at 38% if your marginal rate is 38%. So 19% in this case.

    But the top tax rates in Canada (combined federal and provincial) exceed 40%, so the top earners are looking at 20+% capital gains taxes. However, the conservatives here are going on about getting rid of the tax "to foster economic growth." You know the story.

    Buffett is right though. Not much will stop people with capital from using that capital to make more capital. It's what capital is for.
     
    Baraka_Guru, Aug 16, 2011
    #16
  17. mixedmedia

    mixedmedia ...

    Location:
    Florida
    pfft. Warren Buffett. Who listens to that guy. He's not even running for president.
     
    mixedmedia, Aug 16, 2011
    #17
  18. Perfxion

    Perfxion Vertical

    Location:
    From the great state of Houston
    At work today, a bunch of my co-workers were dismissive of him and telling him to just gift money if he thinks he is so rich. Then dared calling him a socialist for trying to get laws to spread the wealth. Only in this country are people making less than $50,000 a year defending and fighting for sustained lower taxes, no gains taxes, and lower percentage paid for people who fit only into the top 2% of this country.
     
    Perfxion, Aug 16, 2011
    #18
  19. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    I find this line so agonizing. It misses the point. Buffett is suggesting that there is a large amount of wealth that remains untaxed that he feels should be taxed based on percentages, both historical and comparative to those who make less. It has nothing to do with his own personal wealth beyond what extra taxes he would have to pay under that scenario.

    The whole "If he wants to pay more tax, then why doesn't he just hand it over?" doesn't work. It won't solve enough problems because Buffett's wealth is limited as an individual.

    To compare, let's say he was saying that we should all be doing more to end world hunger. It would be a bit daft to say, "Well, if he wants to help so badly, why doesn't he cook for them?"

    Maybe they are waiting for their own ship to sail in. They play the lottery, amirite? What if they win? They don't want their money to go towards no socialism!
     
    Baraka_Guru, Aug 16, 2011
    #19
  20. Perfxion

    Perfxion Vertical

    Location:
    From the great state of Houston
    Sad thing is, lotto winners, and a long with sports and entertainers, are the only groups making over a million and taxed accordingly. Most people who are so against repealing the Bush tax cuts are people who hear these things on Beck and think thats how the world works.
     
    Perfxion, Aug 16, 2011
    #20
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