Stop coddling the super-rich: Buffett

[Lucrum]

Quote from Ricter:

That's a very good question you should look into answering.

You're just embarrassing yourself now.

 

[murray t turtle]

Quote from Lucrum:

Who was the deranged mad man who held a gun to Buffet's head forcing him to take advantage of every possible tax deduction, credit and loophole?

He can pay more taxes anytime he wants to, without trying to force others to do the same with their money. Only to have it squandered by congress. We don't have a revenue problem to begin with. We have a congressional spending orgy.

=============
Exactly. He should practice what he preaches.Also most of the world would consider ANY American super rich, so he said perhaps more than he thought.LOL

Making a God out of gov, will NOT work. Mr AK-47 may want to look @ some more charts, if he thinks the US gov does not have a spending problem.

Rush is right, lower the debt, not raise it;
& tax cuts tend to get more gov revenue, same reason people tend buy more silver when its VERY low priced

 

[jem]

Quote from AK Forty Seven:

http://news.yahoo.com/stop-coddling-super-rich-buffett-084140678.html


Stop coddling the super-rich: Buffett


(Reuters) - Billionaire Warren Buffett urged lawmakers to raise taxes on the country's super-rich to help cut the budget deficit, saying such a move will not hurt investments.

"My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It's time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice," The 80-year-old "Oracle of Omaha" wrote in an opinion article in The New York Times.

Buffett, one of the world's richest men and chairman of conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway Inc , said his federal tax bill last year 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. Their tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent," he said.

Lawmakers engaged in a partisan battle over spending and taxes for more than three months before agreeing on August 2 to raise the $14.3 trillion U.S. debt ceiling, avoiding a U.S. default.

"Americans are rapidly losing faith in the ability of Congress to deal with our country's fiscal problems. Only action that is immediate, real and very substantial will prevent that doubt from morphing into hopelessness," Buffett said.

Buffett said higher taxes for the rich will not discourage investment.

"I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone - not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 - shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain," he said

"People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off."

it is shocking....

that our govt has become so perverted that his office workers pay 33 to 41 percent of the money they earn to the govt.

Those workers may spending half their waking lives working and commuting for him?

17% sounds about right for buffet and the top end 15% or lower sounds about right for people.

Peasants used to revolt if the king wanted 20% from them. (according to grant noble in one of the first books I read on trading.)

Why the hell should the govt be confiscating so much of people lives?

Why are so many people willing to pervert our country and confiscate even more of people lives. This country was found on liberty and a right to keep your own property.

The problem is that half of americans dont pay taxes. If they did we would see a call for tariffs and not income taxes.

The tax code needs to get more spread out otherwise it will get like CA where only a third of the people pay income tax.

I believe on those paying income tax should vote and therefore everyone should pay income tax... even on govt benefits.

Let the freeloaders feel the 30% bite. you would soon see them arguing for a 12 percent flat tax.

 

[jem]

finally, what a crock of shit.

here charlie munger calls absolute bullshit on Buffet idea about taxes not mattering.

Buffet's number 2 calls the idea of EBITDA bullshit earnings.

http://buyingvalue.com/2009/05/munger-on-ebitda/


What is the Problem with EBITDA?
Well let me give an example:

Company A earns $1M and pays $.75M in interest, taxes, & depreciation.
Company B earns $.5M and pays $.1M in interest, taxes, & depreciation.
Which company would you want to own? Right, that is the problem with EBITDA. EBITDA hides reality by concealing normal expenses a company will encounter, and gives a false sense of the profit potential of the business.

Valid Users of EBITDA
EBITDA exists in a world of fantasy where there are no taxes or other inclining of reality. The only way to make this measure useful then is to either change reality; or to find a way not to care about taxes and depreciation.


So even if you were to reply and say if taxes go up from all then the companies might stay relatively the same...

you see that earnings go down as taxes go up... and we know from Munger - investments are all about earnings.

 

[Ricter]

Quote from jem:

it is shocking....

that our govt has become so perverted that his office workers pay 33 to 41 percent of the money they earn to the govt.

Those workers may spending half their waking lives working and commuting for him?

17% sounds about right for buffet and the top end 15% or lower sounds about right for people.

Peasants used to revolt if the king wanted 20% from them. (according to grant noble in one of the first books I read on trading.)

Expanding on the other thread, what were the best methods used at that time to stop those revolts?

 

[jem]

in the coup de grace...

munger explains flexible business owners will just move the company out of the high tax area...


There are only two groups who are capable of this feat: a small group of flexible business buyers, and lenders/financiers. If an industrious individual is willing to buy the company and has the capacity to refinance the debit, and possibly move the company to a another region with a better tax plan, they may be able to unlock more of the earnings shown in EBITDA. The other group who can use EBITDA are lenders who can garner some use for this number as they can access earnings before taxes are paid out- and certainly before depreciated machines are replaced. I say “some use” as EBITDA gives no indication of what other lenders are already in finance arrangements with the company in question.

hence... the conclusion Obama and the democrats are responsible for the unemployment picture because flexible business buyers and lenders will move that business to unlike profits.

Perhaps like GE just did.

 

[Lucrum]

Quote from Ricter:

...what were the best methods used at that time to stop those revolts?

The heads of the over taxing monarchs sitting on a platter?

 

[jem]

Quote from Ricter:

Expanding on the other thread, what were the best methods used at that time to stop those revolts?

this is ricter playing the setup guy...
are you familar with the tea party...
I mean the one in boston... where the colonists got pissed at the further taxation without representation.

similar to what is happening today.... when only 50% of the people pay income tax.... that 50% is essentially be taxed by democrats... democrats are not really representing those who pay income taxes. Not even buffet is happy with his representation.

Income tax is inherently unfair for this reason. it causes a distortion of govt representation.

 

[Ricter]

Quote from Lucrum:

The heads of the over taxing monarchs sitting on a platter?

Ahh, the best way to end <del>riots</del> revolts is to take down power. I'm with you!

 

[Spike Trader]

Quote from Lucrum:

Do you even read what you copy and paste?
Thanks for proving my point.

"...Revenues are down about 2 or 3 percent. So if you look at where the problem is, the problem is in spending, not taxes..." [/QUOTE




You're the one who keeps on saying we need more government.. .