The world’s second or third richest man (depending on the day of the week) is singing away in the New York Times about how the ultra-rich should have the snot taxed out of them.
From the official newspaper of record:
“Last year my federal tax bill — the income tax I paid, as well as payroll taxes paid by me and on my behalf — 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.”
Warren thinks the ultra-rich aren’t taxed enough and that they should be taxed more even though corporations already tired of 35% tax rates are relocating to places like Switzerland with 15%-16% tax rates. Will the ultra-rich be next?
When is someone going to get the right idea and lower taxes like JFK in the 60s? Lower taxes and the ultra-rich and corporations will be happy to stay in the USA. Missing jobs and tax money will reappear and the economy will pick up.
If you’re so patriotic, Warren, why don’t you write a check to Uncle Sam for a few billion and get your ultra-rich buddies to write them, too?
Why not a flat-tax, Warren? Then everyone would pay fairly!
Hit it, Warren: “I got dem billionaire blues, ’cuz I’m rich I be tellin’ everbody what to do, even if it makes me look like a fool, I got dem billioinaire blues.
– Written by CO2Insanity
Source: New York Times
This post was last modified on August 20, 2011
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In my J.P.'s Moment of Common Sense yesterday, I made particular mention of Warren Buffet. Number one, he's wrong about his own tax rate, which should make people question how "brilliant" he really is. And number two, I suggested that maybe if we abandoned the income tax in favor of a wealth tax, Mr. Buffet would quickly change his tune about wanting higher taxes: http://jpattitude.com/110820.php
Nope, taxes where much higher for the richer in the 1950s, yet the corps and jobs stayed in the US.
There were also many fewer government regulations that add large amounts of money to the cost of production. When the government got into the act, it made American made products much more expensive than foreign (Japanese and Chinese) products. Moving overseas, to places where regulation was less costly, was the only way American companies could compete in the market.
Stop trying to demonize the businessman and place the blame where it belongs, government intrusion.
You remember that there was this thing called WWII and it left virtually every developed country in ruins except the US. There was global demand for our products because we had no competition since the rest of the industrialized countries were too busy rebuilding their cities.
'Nope, taxes where much higher for the richer in the 1950s, yet the corps and jobs stayed in the US."
Where would they have gone then? Context is everything.
Dang, Sidekick, you beat me to it. I was going to say that at the time the tax rates in America were a bargin compared to the rest of the world. There was no place else for them to shelter their money.
Great minds, drb...
Thank you.
Why do you people like the ultra-rich so much? Hang out with them on weekends? Play golf with the Waltons lately? They are sucking the country dry. They hoard money and "create" jobs that flat out suck compared to jobs Americans could expect 50 years ago. Go ahed and start a small business on Main Street. Just don't try selling anything that Target or Wal Mart already does. I bet you will find them to be great neighbors who play fair in the great free market you are competing in. If you have any trouble just write to the representatives they already bought. Go ahead and defend them while they crap on the middle class and lower. I say tax them to extinction.
Why do you people like the ultra-rich so much?........They hoard money and “create” jobs that flat out suck compared to jobs Americans could expect 50 years ago.
Have you noticed that things have changed in the last 50 years? Much of the manufacturing was chased out by government regulations. They made it so costly to produce products here that people didn't buy American made any more when they could buy Japanese or Chinese for much less. You want to blame someone, blame the government.
I see someone got his democrat/communist talking points along with his welfare check and food stamps this month. Your using those same tired worn out arguments they used against the Jews 70 years ago. You expect us to actually believe that the rich "hoard " wealth like the misers of old? Next you can tell us how they want to starve and kill us to provide dog food for their packs of hounds.
I said this before, and I'll repeat it,"When was the last time a homeless person provided you with a job"? All my employment over the last 30 years has been from millionaires and multi millionaires. They have a vested interest in providing me with a decent paying job, and they supply it while making money in the process.
Now, when taxed to death by a greedy and stupid government the rich will leave a country and take their economic abilities with them. Let us hope we get a decent non communist group next time in the executive branch, otherwise we will see 1930's style unemployment and disaster.
Pavlov's got quite a handle on reality, huh?
(S)he has certainly been trained with the bell.
If Warren Buffet feels so strongly about taxing the super rich more, then he should call up his accountant and telling them to write a big check to the IRS. Then he can sell off his many holding and pay the taxes on the sales of the holding. Then he could sell off one of his several private jets, fly on commercial flights.
What a crock of BULL SHIT.
Omaha. Franklin Savings & Loan scandal. Trail led to child-sex parties. A certain Nebraska billionaire was implicated. The young accusers who wouldn't recant were thrown in jail and were threatened. One had a relative killed. The investigator in the case was murdered (along with his ten-year-old son).
I'm just throwin' that out there, 'cause I feel like it.
RK, any idea where I can get a straight, " just the facts ma'am " overview of the whole case? For a news junky I somehow missed that one, you've got me curious now.
"The Franklin Scandal" by Nicholas Bryant. The case centers mostly on a guy named Larry King (not the talk-show host) who bled a savings and loan for both personal high living and underhanded money laundering. He was very connected in the Omaha business community and in D.C. where he set up call-boy parties for blackmail schemes. Buffet is mentioned only briefly, but most of the Omaha big business moguls had damage control going on then. (In fact, I'm not even sure if "The Franklin Scandal" gets into Buffet or if it was "The Franklin Cover-Up" by John DeCamp which did - another good book on the topic.)
Strangely enough, it connects to the case of Johnny Gosch, the paperboy who was abducted and whose mother was subsequently sent kiddie porn pics that purported to be him.
The case gets into Satanism (Larry King's religious persuasion), snuff films and every manner of depravity.
Warren, nobody told you that you HAVE to use all those deductions!
Just use the 1040A, only take the personal exemption and see how much you will pay then!
Best argument I've heard for a simple flat tax.
I say we lobby Congress to pass a Warren Buffet tax. That way Warren (just him, nobody else) gets the additional tax and everybody else gets left the heck alone!
The Alternative Minimum Tax was set up to to hit about 2 dozen people/families, & look at it now. What we do know is this, if the idiot billionaire from Omaha wants to pay more, he can write a big ass check to the IRS. He can give his "fair share" if he feels that guilty about his wealth, but I suspect that's not the case. He's got his now, & I have a feeling he does'nt want any compitition to him at all for the few years he's got left. Buffet looks like a dirtbag on this one.
Hey Buffet, how about a nice hot cup of STFU? Cut the bullcrap. If you think it's so damn important, send a check over and above what you owe/pay. Be an example.
Why not a consumption tax like the one outlined in the Fair Tax? Get rid of income tax all together.
Flat tax is better than the current system, for sure. But it does nothing to address illegals who pay no taxes at all and yet receive services that our taxes are covering.
Every time Pablo buys a case of cerveza, a car, an anything that we buy, he will pay the tax just like Buffet will, if he buys a yacht.
Rich people find loopholes in this system, illegals get paid under the table. Consumption tax takes care of both non-tax payers, so we in the middle class don't have to carry the load.... as we have done throughout history.
The other lingering problem with a flat tax is that is the gov't is still able to (or even is obligated to) poke their grubby nose into your personal life.
Which is something the more conspiratorially-inclined among us might claim was the whole point in the first place.