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Famed billionaire Warren Buffet, who a couple of years ago made a splash by informing that his secretary paid a higher tax
rate than he, is shown here receiving the United States Medal of Freedom this past February at the White House from President Barack Obama. Thus, the picture is of two dummies and a medal.
Buffet’s secretary’s rate was on her salary, thus, “earned income”. Buffet’s was on capital gains on invested capital, thus “unearned income”. “[U]nearned” is a misnomer, but legally-correct nonetheless. When Buffet earned the money in the first place in order to later invest it, he paid a higher rate on it than his secretary, all that before being double-taxed.
The medaler and the medalee agree that the government’s debt should be reduced by stopping “coddling” the wealthy and called on Congress to raise taxes on those making $1 million or more. In a New York Times op-ed August 15, Buffet said, ““My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress,” wrote Buffett. Then, along came the Tax Foundation.
The Tax Foundation asserted that there were 236,833 such households. Buffet also said that an ever-higher rate should be assessed thos earning more than $10 million per annum. The Tax Foundation then asserted that there are but 8,274 of those. Taxing these folks at, say, 50% on all income, including capital gains and eliminating all deductions would only
David Logan
reduce the nation’s debt by about 1%.
Now the Tax Foundation’s researcher and author, David Logan, proved why he should have been at the ceremony back in February, that so we could have had a trio of dummies and a medal in the room. Logan said — I couldn’t make this up — that if we taxed all of the millionaires and billionaires annually at a 100% tax rate, that would only raise $186 billion for the Treasury and reduce the deficit by 12% and the debt by 2%.
Then Logan — no he wasn’t finished making a fool of himself — provided the solution. After every American earning more than $200,000 had paid his federal income taxes, if the federal government took away every penny they had left, that would net the government $1.53 trillion, virtually eliminating the deficit.
Folks, these guys just know that they are the best-and-brightest-ivy-educated intelligentsia destined to lead as the “ruling class” the RAMs (ragged dyassed masses) to utopia here and now. And what’s really really scary is that tens of millions of “country class” RAMs are nodding (vertically) in agreement.
If Buffet wants to pay higher taxes than he can simply omit capital loses and itemize deductions. From what I understand his tax return is loaded with these types of income tax deductions.
But Pat, I don’t think they WANT to pay higher taxes. I think they are playing games with our liberty period. If the buffet man wanted to prop up this government, he would be out canvassing his fellow and fellowette “super rich” friends to pay up. He isn’t. He’s making political statements only. I smell a smoke screen!
I’m reminded, Pat, of Barbra Streisand, who had proposed that people should hang clothes on the line in the yard rather than destroying the planet by using clothes dryers. A reporter said that he just couldn’t picture Barbra hanging clothes on the line. She said, “No, regular people, not me.”
It’s getting old. The supposed “educated” amongst us are those who would be the first to squelch liberty and freedom … and one has to ask oneself — what’s in it for THEM? Because there IS something in it for them. Doesn’t matter what it is, it just matters that there is some sort of payback to these “Dummies.” And no no no, I am not about “class warfare.” If any of these screw balls wants to send monies into this peapoor run government, let them.
Sorry … I’m having a bad hair day.
Ted Turner was genius. Cable news? 24/7/365 news? That was way out-of-the-box? Genius, properly applied, makes money by bucketloads. Then came a movie channel, even with classics. Gutsy and it also worked. Regional sports network, also cable. Bingo. 3-for-3.
So what was with buying the Atlanta Braves and operating the team just like every other team in the MLB? Ego. Being recognized by fans at the ballpark. So what was with Hanoi Jane Fonda? I’m not goin’ there. So why donate millions of $ to the United Nations?
Bill Gates and Ted Turner would have served their fellow man better had they stuck to inventing more new stuff and making more and more millionaires rather than giving money to takers instead of builders.
George Soros is a megalomaniac from way back. He’s been a manipulating puppet master for many decades, and has toppled regimes and countries. Before he dies, the USA is the prize. Like for The Donald (Trump), its all the game. Its playing to win, and winning.
Warren Buffet has been in the shadows forever. He is Berkshire-Hathaway. How many people had ever heard of either Buffet — Warren, not Jimmy — or B-H? Very keen eye for winners-in-the-making. Once he got gobs of money, he then found himself missing celebrity. Now he’s got it and in the loftiest of places.
Funny how we keep hearing the story of Warren Buffet’s poor secretary paying a higher tax rate than Buffet, yet we never hear how much each one ACTUALLY paid in federal income taxes. I thought we were living in the information age.
If Buffet’s secretary makes $200K and pays an effective tax rate of 25% after deductions, she would pay $50K in taxes. If Buffet made $100 million in capital gains and paid 15%, he would pay $15 million.
So let’s see. We have two citizens, both equally responsible for their share of the cost of running the country (in theory), yet one pays $50,000 while the other pays $15,000,000 (or 300 times more than his fellow citizen). And everywhere you look there lurks another citizen who pays nothing at all.
So I guess Buffet is right. Our tax system is highly unfair, and that sucks.
And THAT, CW, is what Buffet paid AFTER having paid at the TOP INCOME TAX rate when he was paid a salary by Berkshire-Hathaway before he invested in stock on which he had capital gains.
Say, what did you think of the piece I also wrote the same day as this about federal regulations?
Why don’t these 8 balls just write their checks to the IRS then? Why talk a big talk and do nothing? Buffet just likes to brag about how little he pays and the rest of them are just mouthing off a bunch of bs. Writing those checks and donating the money they think they should give would be enough.
This article is so appropriately named and really says it all “3 Dummies and a Medal”.
No pub. No notoriety. No fun. Today, Buffet spoke with Obama, then said that he was thinking of buying stock in Bank of America, which he certainly had already done. His words caused a big spike in the BofA stock price. Buffet and Obama probably then sold.
No THAT’S fun.
If you aren’t aware, DrPete, Shannon has a new post up.
Pardon my asking, Mrs. AL, but who’s Shannon?
Tyranny is color blind … your post.
Setting mobile.
Gotcha, Mrs. AL. Gracias!
FYI — Sgt Relic from TH is testing out WP and blogspot before he permanently moves from TH. Here’s his WP address … http://sgtrelic.wordpress.com/
I keep checking my in-box for notification that you have a new post up, DrPete. Goodness gracious, how long will I have to keep checking? tic