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Why conservatives hate Warren Buffett
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Karolina Dean...Big money weave a mighty webld you what to dream
Sep 29, 2011, 3:29:53 PM9/29/11
to
Why conservatives hate Warren Buffett
By E.J. Dionne Jr., Published: September 28
Maybe only a really, really rich guy can credibly make the case for
why the wealthy should be asked to pay more in taxes. You can’t accuse
a big capitalist of “class warfare.” That’s why the right wing
despises Warren Buffett and is trying so hard to shut him up.
Militant conservatives are effective because they are absolutely
shameless. Many of the same people who think the rich should be free
to spend unlimited sums influencing our politics without having to
disclose anything are now asking Buffett to make his tax returns
public. I guess if you’re indifferent to consistency, you have a lot
of freedom of action.
Buffett has outraged conservatives by saying that he pays taxes at a
lower rate than his secretary. He’s said this for years, but he’s a
target now because President Obama is using his comment to make the
case for higher taxes on millionaires.
Thus did the Wall Street Journal editorial page call on Buffett to
“let everyone else in on his secrets of tax avoidance by releasing his
tax returns.”
Somehow, the Journal did not think to ask its friends who battle
vigorously for low taxes on capital gains to release their tax
returns, too. But aren’t they just as engaged in this argument as
Buffett? Shouldn’t accountability go both ways? Nor did the Journal
suggest that the Koch brothers could serve the public interest by
releasing a full accounting of all their political spending.
Buffett’s sin is that he spoke a truth that conservatives want to keep
covered up: Taxing capital gains at 15 percent means that people who
make their money from investments pay taxes at a much lower marginal
rate than those who earn more than $34,500 a year from their labor.
That’s when the income tax rate goes up to 25 percent. (For joint
filers, the 25 percent rate kicks in at $69,000.) For singles, the 28
percent bracket starts at $83,600, the 33 percent bracket at $174,400.
So if an investor such as Buffett pockets, say, $100 million of his
income in capital gains, he pays only a 15 percent tax on all that
money. For everyday working people, the 15 percent rate applies only
to earnings between $8,500 and $34,500. After that, they’re paying a
higher marginal rate than the multimillionaire pays on gains from
investments. Oh, yes, and before Obama temporarily cut it by two
points, the payroll tax added another 6.2 percent to the burden on
middle-class workers. That levy doesn’t apply to capital gains or to
income above $106,800, so it hits low- and middle-income workers much
harder than it does the wealthy.
No wonder partisans of low taxes on wealthy investors hate Warren
Buffett. He has forced a national conversation on (1) the bias of the
tax system against labor; (2) the fact that, in comparison with
middle- or upper-middle-class people, the really wealthy pay a
remarkably low percentage of their income in taxes; and (3) the deeply
regressive nature of the payroll tax.
(Because this column appears in The Post, I should note that Buffett
heads a company that owns a substantial minority share in The
Washington Post Co. and for many years held a seat on the company’s
board of directors.)
It’s worth noticing that while conservatives who talk about religion
get a lot of coverage — and I will always defend their freedom to
speak of faith in the public square — what really get the juices
flowing on the right these days are tax rates. I’m not sure that a
politician who renounced the Almighty would get nearly the attention
Buffett has received for his renunciation of low capital gains taxes.
Advocates of higher taxes on the wealthy do not want to “punish” the
successful. Buffett and Doug Edwards, a millionaire who asked Obama at
a recent town hall event in California to raise his taxes, are saying
that none of us succeeds solely because of personal effort. We are all
lucky to have been born in — or, for immigrants, admitted to — a
country where the rule of law is strong, where property is safe, where
a vast infrastructure has been built over generations, where our
colleges and universities are the envy of the world, and where
government protects our liberties.
Wealthy people, by definition, have done better within this system
than other people have. They ought to be willing to join Buffett and
Edwards in arguing that for this reason alone, it is common sense, not
class jealousy, to ask the most fortunate to pay taxes at higher tax
rates than other people do. It is for this heresy that Buffett is
being harassed.
By E.J. Dionne Jr., Published: September 28
Maybe only a really, really rich guy can credibly make the case for
why the wealthy should be asked to pay more in taxes. You can’t accuse
a big capitalist of “class warfare.” That’s why the right wing
despises Warren Buffett and is trying so hard to shut him up.
Militant conservatives are effective because they are absolutely
shameless. Many of the same people who think the rich should be free
to spend unlimited sums influencing our politics without having to
disclose anything are now asking Buffett to make his tax returns
public. I guess if you’re indifferent to consistency, you have a lot
of freedom of action.
Buffett has outraged conservatives by saying that he pays taxes at a
lower rate than his secretary. He’s said this for years, but he’s a
target now because President Obama is using his comment to make the
case for higher taxes on millionaires.
Thus did the Wall Street Journal editorial page call on Buffett to
“let everyone else in on his secrets of tax avoidance by releasing his
tax returns.”
Somehow, the Journal did not think to ask its friends who battle
vigorously for low taxes on capital gains to release their tax
returns, too. But aren’t they just as engaged in this argument as
Buffett? Shouldn’t accountability go both ways? Nor did the Journal
suggest that the Koch brothers could serve the public interest by
releasing a full accounting of all their political spending.
Buffett’s sin is that he spoke a truth that conservatives want to keep
covered up: Taxing capital gains at 15 percent means that people who
make their money from investments pay taxes at a much lower marginal
rate than those who earn more than $34,500 a year from their labor.
That’s when the income tax rate goes up to 25 percent. (For joint
filers, the 25 percent rate kicks in at $69,000.) For singles, the 28
percent bracket starts at $83,600, the 33 percent bracket at $174,400.
So if an investor such as Buffett pockets, say, $100 million of his
income in capital gains, he pays only a 15 percent tax on all that
money. For everyday working people, the 15 percent rate applies only
to earnings between $8,500 and $34,500. After that, they’re paying a
higher marginal rate than the multimillionaire pays on gains from
investments. Oh, yes, and before Obama temporarily cut it by two
points, the payroll tax added another 6.2 percent to the burden on
middle-class workers. That levy doesn’t apply to capital gains or to
income above $106,800, so it hits low- and middle-income workers much
harder than it does the wealthy.
No wonder partisans of low taxes on wealthy investors hate Warren
Buffett. He has forced a national conversation on (1) the bias of the
tax system against labor; (2) the fact that, in comparison with
middle- or upper-middle-class people, the really wealthy pay a
remarkably low percentage of their income in taxes; and (3) the deeply
regressive nature of the payroll tax.
(Because this column appears in The Post, I should note that Buffett
heads a company that owns a substantial minority share in The
Washington Post Co. and for many years held a seat on the company’s
board of directors.)
It’s worth noticing that while conservatives who talk about religion
get a lot of coverage — and I will always defend their freedom to
speak of faith in the public square — what really get the juices
flowing on the right these days are tax rates. I’m not sure that a
politician who renounced the Almighty would get nearly the attention
Buffett has received for his renunciation of low capital gains taxes.
Advocates of higher taxes on the wealthy do not want to “punish” the
successful. Buffett and Doug Edwards, a millionaire who asked Obama at
a recent town hall event in California to raise his taxes, are saying
that none of us succeeds solely because of personal effort. We are all
lucky to have been born in — or, for immigrants, admitted to — a
country where the rule of law is strong, where property is safe, where
a vast infrastructure has been built over generations, where our
colleges and universities are the envy of the world, and where
government protects our liberties.
Wealthy people, by definition, have done better within this system
than other people have. They ought to be willing to join Buffett and
Edwards in arguing that for this reason alone, it is common sense, not
class jealousy, to ask the most fortunate to pay taxes at higher tax
rates than other people do. It is for this heresy that Buffett is
being harassed.
trijcomm
Sep 29, 2011, 4:23:23 PM9/29/11
to
On Sep 29, 2:29 pm, "Karolina Dean...Big money weave a mighty webld
A.( If he wants to send in a nice big fat check to the govt. so Obama
can give it away to another Solyndra, he should do that. B.) How many
people has he hired recently?
BUZZKILL
Sep 29, 2011, 8:34:07 PM9/29/11
to
"Karolina Dean...Big money weave a mighty webld you what to dream"
news:a05f3e37-102c-4911...@j1g2000yqj.googlegroups.com...
> Why conservatives hate Warren Buffett
>
> By E.J. Dionne Jr., Published: September 28
>
> Maybe only a really, really rich guy can credibly make the case for
> why the wealthy should be asked to pay more in taxes. You can’t accuse
> a big capitalist of “class warfare.” That’s why the right wing
> despises Warren Buffett and is trying so hard to shut him up.
I used to hate Buffett, but now I respect him. I'd respect him even more if
>
> By E.J. Dionne Jr., Published: September 28
>
> Maybe only a really, really rich guy can credibly make the case for
> why the wealthy should be asked to pay more in taxes. You can’t accuse
> a big capitalist of “class warfare.” That’s why the right wing
> despises Warren Buffett and is trying so hard to shut him up.
he'd put his money where his mouth is and give away most of his wealth. He
could give up 99% of what he has and live comfortably for the rest of his
life.
BUZZKILL
Sep 29, 2011, 8:37:28 PM9/29/11
to
"trijcomm" <trij...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:16ab044f-8826-4242...@x19g2000vbl.googlegroups.com...
Mhoram
Sep 29, 2011, 9:43:50 PM9/29/11
to
"BUZZKILL" <wat...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:j632qa$riu$1...@dont-email.me...
I think Bill Gates and Ted Turner are two insanely rich people who have
given back way more than their share to society.
news:j632qa$riu$1...@dont-email.me...
given back way more than their share to society.
Freezer
Sep 30, 2011, 1:21:31 AM9/30/11
to
If I don't reply to this trijcomm post, the terrorists win.
<typical Janis blather snipped>
Is it really necessary to quote so much to respond with so little (in both
substance and word count)?
--
My name is Freezer and my anti-drug is porn.
http://freezer818.livejournal.com/
http://mst3kfreezer.livejournal.com/
<typical Janis blather snipped>
Is it really necessary to quote so much to respond with so little (in both
substance and word count)?
--
My name is Freezer and my anti-drug is porn.
http://freezer818.livejournal.com/
http://mst3kfreezer.livejournal.com/
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