Warren Buffett: Tax me and the rest of the wealthy more

Bravo Ick, there is some good stuff in there. I guess the only place we really differ is in with who does the dirty work. Government doesn't give the needy real hope and a future, never will.

 

And most countries would be more affluent, not to mention healthier and wiser, if we treated so-called 'socialist' policies as investments rather than expenses. Healthcare and education, especially, are long term investments with lengthy payback periods, not annual expenses. Ignore for a moment any thoughts of individual 'subsidy', either giving or getting, and consider society as a whole. It's better for everyone to keep the wheels of commerce turning. Downtime is expensive - gotta keep those machines humming. If it helps to see people only in monetary terms as 'units of production', then look at it from that viewpoint. Ultimately, even using 'right wing' economic theory, the rich will get richer still, if more units of production are working, and more workers are consuming. Skimping on maintaining the machinery of production, and refusing to repair the machinery when it breaks down - because it's somehow 'their fault' - is short sighted and not profitable.

It's more profitable, both figuratively and literally, for individuals and society, when people are educated, healthy, and happy. Get the idea of 'I'm paying for some deadbeat' out of your head. It's wrong. Yes, most of us need to get off our butts, and no, nobody's going to make you hold hands and sing kumbaya.

 

My 'government system' insurance company gives rebates. They don't "continue to ask for more and more..." - the discounts get better every year. Plus, I can choose whatever levels of coverage I want.

 

What you don't seem to get, is that we all pay for people like my example, and indeed we pay way too much. We just don't pay it in our taxes in any rational way. The US government pays as much in total for health care, through medicare/medicaid and the VA (per capita) as any other country pays. The difference is that in the US, we pay that same amount AGAIN through private insurance/self pay etc, so we are in essence paying twice,, twice as much as the G-20 average and we get a demonstrable poorer result!

Am I arguing that the Canadian system or the UK or the French system is perfect? Of course not! What I am saying is that in those countries, people don't (generally) die from lack of service, and they certainly don't go bankrupt if they get sick. On top of that, they are paying (collectively) 1/2 as much. Go ahead, try to convince me that we have a better system!

As for the government not "giving the needy hope for the future". Tell that to a person that got an subsidized education, or food assistance. Tell that to the widow who at the age of 59 can't collect her survivor benefits because she is not 60.

It has been demonstrated that the national investment that pays the biggest long term benefit, more than stocks, more than bonds, more than gold, is investing in early childhood education and health. Guess what gets cut in the so called Teaparty budget proposals? Defense? Oil Company subsidies, tax breaks for those that have lots? No, we cut services and programs to the poorest of the poor,, because it is easy!

Are social "welfare" programs rife with waste? Probably. Do some programs diminish a persons drive to improve him/herself? Perhaps. But compare those numbers to that which corporate welfare recipients get, or military contractors get, and the numbers are pitiful.

Just not spending on the war in Iraq, and or Afghanistan would save enough money to fund medicare. If you think that trickle down economics works, I would ask for evidence of that. If you think that private charity should pick up the slack for the poor, I would ask you why has it not done so?

Like I said, we are an affluent society, but when you have the top ~500 people controlling more wealth than the next 50% of the population COMBINED, (fueled ever increasingly by preferential tax treatment) you have a society that is not sustainable.

The problem is that too few people understand that, and indeed they vote against their own self interests (and for the interests of the Uber Rich) time and again. They have been sold a bill of goods!

Icarus

 

Ooooh-Oooooh!I got the answer!!!!
It shouldn't be at all....you're 100-percent right!

Unfortunately, people's expectation for health insurance includes health maintenance. Granted...preventative health care is fundamental to health and long life, but people's unbounded sense of entitlement will not allow them to actually come out of pocket for something that might lengthen their life. Oh nooooo!
If homeowners insurance were run like our health care insurance, then I would be able to demand that State Farm pay for lawn maintenance, painting, roof repair, etc....
Sometimes....I almost wish there really were a single payer system in this country...

 

What about companies who take out "dead peasant" policies on their workers without the employees knowledge. Don't have a source but I'm willing to bet it increases the insurance coat on the rest of us.

 

You know, there was a very smart man who lived about 2,000 years ago who would unhesitatingly say yes, we should take care of the poor and needy.

Too bad you never heard of this guy.

 

Stop fighting these pointless wars that have no exit strategy. We don't have money for the Space Shuttle, but we've got money to send UAVs to kill people.

Increase cap gains and effectively tax rich people more. This is a no-brainer. They've benefited from our society the most, they should pay the most for that privilege.

Preserve social programs for the poor and middle class. How better to tell someone you don't care about them than let them get sick, go bankrupt, and die?

Don't re-elect Obama.

That ought to do it.

 

When you increase the capital gains taxes, after all you said this was a no brainer... Do you think there may be investors who decide not to risk their money? Maybe lower capital gains taxes was a way to spur investment? We already know there are many wealthy people sitting on fortunes.

Side effect of less investing? Less jobs created!

 

Yes, because that's worked so well for the past 10 years.

 

Yes, but more to balance the budget. In the long term you always hope for more efficiency and fewer wars so everybody can be taxed less.

 

Investors will still invest. They want to make money. With higher taxes you just have to invest more to make the same amount of money.

The result is a worsening in the odds, which would suggest that the overall investment portfolio would be lower risk rather than smaller.

Of course, for some years there have been both low capital gains taxes and low interest rates. Put the two together and you have a recipe for a crash.

 

Don't get me wrong, the current system is broke. I have mentioned this before in other threads. I have also provided links to small scale solutions that give people out of options what they need but also real hope for the future. On a larger scale there would be a need of more of a hybrid solution but then there would be those the would yell separation of church and state crap and we would end up in the same place we are now. We simply cannot do it on our own.

 

Too bad you have only heard of Him by name.

 

so far 53-9 in favor of raising taxes. I think that says it all, but let's HALF the 53 to 26-9. That's STILL a 3-1 margin which says to me the Ds have it right, and not many ultra rich are being vocal AGAINST which shows me RAISE TAXES and the sooner the better.

 

Anybody wish to hazard a guess as to who some of the 9 might be?

Icarus

 

Seems a few wealthy people in France have had the same idea.

"At a time when the public debt ... threatens the future of France and Europe, at a moment when the government asks for solidarity from everyone, it seems necessary for us to contribute," the French letter reads.

The quote is from this article published this morning on the CBC website.

 

Has Warren requested the IRS to raise his tax rate yet?

 

Off hand, I'm guessing they aren't super-rich. I guess they like paying higher taxes so the Walmart heirs can afford another yacht.

 

All we need now is wealth and political power.