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Warren Buffet Offers to Help
In today’s NYTimes, financial titan Warren Buffet has some words for the Congressional super-committee as they look for ways to get the nation’s financial house in order. For a start, raise taxes on those people most able to afford to contribute more to the federal pot. He points to the example of the military men and women who have sacrificed to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan. Most of them are from families without a lot of money. The volunteers in the military are doing their share for America. His reasoning makes the national Republican Party’s fanatical opposition to raising taxes on the super-rich look mean-spirited. Stop protecting us, he advises Congress. It’s time for us to help.
Why doesn’t Buffett send a couple of billion to the treasury? He certainly woudn’t miss it. Let him lead by example rather than telling otherswhat they should do with their money. Or is he one of those that says do as I say not as I do? Thje treasury would gladly talke the check
He has been singing this refrain for years and yet hasn’t given one thin dime to the government beyonf what is due. Massachusetts has a mechanism for people to pay a higher tax rate and yet less than 1% do so. With all these people advocating higher taxes here why haven’t thye taken advantage of the opportunity given to them? Because they are like Buffett, full of hot air.
@Publius
What good what it do if Warren Buffet–and only Warren Buffet–sends an extra $100 million to the Treasury? It’s a systemic issue. His point is that the overall tax structure needs to change so that people like him, who get paid mostly in stock options (which are taxed at 15%) pay more than a secretary making $35,000 who is taxed at 25%.
Buffet’s article only targeted about 400 people. If you took away all their money, you would still have a drop in the bucket compared to the debt.
As most say, I would agree to a tax system reform (revenue neutral), but it would also have to be tied to entitlement reform. (I thought Obama promised $500 billion in cuts in “waste and fraud” in Medicare almost 3 years ago.. when is that happening?)