Warren Buffett made the news a few months back calling for more of HIS fellow millionaires to be paying a wealth tax, to be paying their FAIR SHARE to help with the federal deficit. Now this was kind of a smoke and mirrors class warfare stunt, as he quietly separated he and his fellow millionaires from the rest of the populace, while using language to support the notion that if you are rich, you are obligated to pay more regardless of how much you are currently paying.
The fact is Mr Warren Buffett is worth infinitely more than most of the group he is targeting, as you will see, does pay more than he lets out though his ownership of Berkeshire Hathaway, so should keep his greedy hands and influence off of other peoples money.
Warren Buffett came out and said the rich needs to be taxed more. What he did not readily say is that he is the primary stockholder of the Berkshire Hathaway group who does pay a lot of taxes (more than his reported percentage in the teens), and they have been actively trying to get out of back taxes dating back to the early 2000′s. On top of that, you will see their investment choices often search out preferred stocks, with special treatments and low tax rates.
Now he is targeting senate Republicans, and one in particular Senator Mitch McConnel. In this article I do not want to get into whether the SENATORS should pay more, because is seems Mr Buffett is using the emotion and anger of the American public against congress for his cause…but to caution that stunts such as this by Mr Buffett are actually designed to reach deeper into the pockets of most americans, not just the rich.
As reported via Yahoo and Reuters:
WASHINGTON/BOSTON (Reuters) – Warren Buffett is willing to put his money where his mouth is, if only congressional Republicans would join him.
The American billionaire investor, in the new issue of Time magazine, says he would donate $1 to paying down the national debt for every dollar donated by a Republican in Congress. The only exception is Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell – for whom Buffett said he would go $3-to-$1.
The idea stems from a New York Times opinion piece Buffett wrote last August in which he said the rich ought to pay more taxes. It sparked an instant controversy, with some Washington conservatives calling on the 81-year-old “Oracle of Omaha” to voluntarily pay extra.
McConnell said at the time that if Buffett felt “guilty” about paying too low a tax rate, he should “send in a check.” This was quickly followed by introduction of a bill to give taxpayers an option on tax forms to make voluntary donations.
“It restores my faith in human nature to think that there are people who have been around Washington all this time and are not yet so cynical as to think that can’t be solved by voluntary contributions,” the Buffett told Time for an article hitting newsstands on Friday.
An aide to McConnell suggested that the Berkshire Hathaway CEO should expand his matching offer to President Barack Obama and his Democrats.
“Senator McConnell says that Washington should be smaller, rather than taxes getting bigger. And since some, like President Obama and Mr. Buffett want to pay higher taxes, Congress made it possible for them to call their own bluff and send in a check,” said Don Stewart, McConnell’s deputy chief of staff.
“So I look forward to Mr. Buffett matching a healthy batch of checks from those who actually want to pay higher taxes, including Congressional Democrats, the President and the Democratic National Committee,” he added.
It is important to mention, Buffett did not directly attack all of congress, just republicans, although used the emotion to gain the support of the American public which in the end would destroy the middle class even more. This is not unlike passing a bill such as the NDAA which is supposed to protect you from bad people, but in the end only takes away your liberties and freedoms.
Mr Buffett, you might want to stay out of politics, and if it really interests you, check out the real monetary policies of a true fiscal conservative such as Ron Paul.
Related Posts:
Warren Buffett says he does not agree with the Buffett Wealth Tax, but approves of his name on it
How to avoid the Buffett Wealth Tax, Warren Buffett Style
The Buffett wealth tax will hurt small business owners and lead to class warfare
