http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVOn371TCPo
Lubow's take:
For an investor or for any citizen this is a useful way to spend 51 minutes
of your time.
Comment:
The GOP seems to believe that the best way to get poor people working harder
is to take away from them while the best way to get rich people working
harder is to give them more.
Points made by Buffett:
-- Top 400 earners have had their incomes quintupled since 1992.... "this
has become a nation of haves, have-nots and super haves."
-- In the US we have $48,000 per capita GDP
-- The US Treasury receives $800B in payroll tax vs. $900B in income tax
-- Average tax rate in the BH Omaha office ranges from 33 to 41 percent
while Buffett's rate is 17%. This includes P/R tax
-- "high [tax] rates are falling on the middle class."
On the notion that higher tax rates will cause rich folks not to invest:
-- "I have worked with investors for sixty years -- small ones, large ones ,
super-large ones. I have worked with capital gains rates of 39.9% and 35%
and 25%. "If I call you in the middle of the night, Charlie, and I say
,'Charlie, I have this hot investment idea.' Your reaction is not to say,
'no matter what the tax rate forget it. I'm going back to sleep because
capital gains tax rates are too high.' No. What you're going to do is say,
'Tell me the name quick, Warren, before you change your mind.'"
-- "People need to be educated on what fellows like me are paying in
taxes... but this is the time to do it... When people are educated their
leaders in Congress will follow through. I think some members of Congress
don't understand that... I don't need a tax shelter. I have the US
Congress. They're taking care of me."
-- "When housing starts getting back to a million units [annually]
unemployment will fall off dramatically." Expects housing inventory to drop
by 2013. "The good part is that we have more households getting formed than
we're building homes."
-- Since the US was formed we have had fifteen recessions but this was the
worst because it directly impacted families' biggest asset.
-- Exports as a percentage of GDP have increased over the last four years.