Buffett: I am not a Spotted Owl

Warren Buffett‘s latest New York Times op-ed is about the absurdity of billionaires paying a high-teens percentage in federal income tax while the middle class shoulders a 30-some odd percent burden each year.  He is amazed at the lengths Congress will go to protect he and his ilk…

While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks. Some of us are investment managers who earn billions from our daily labors but are allowed to classify our income as “carried interest,” thereby getting a bargain 15 percent tax rate. Others own stock index futures for 10 minutes and have 60 percent of their gain taxed at 15 percent, as if they’d been long-term investors.

These and other blessings are showered upon us by legislators in Washington who feel compelled to protect us, much as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species. It’s nice to have friends in high places.

Buffett is not calling for an across the board tax hike, contrary what the kneejerk all-taxes-are-always-bad-all-the-time crowd will tell you.  Rather, he is looking for a bit of pragmatism as the nation seeks to get its fiscal shit together.  Buffett supports the 2-percentage point reduction in employee payroll tax contribution and would leave income tax rates unchanged for 99.7% of payers.

Source:

Stop Coddling the Super-Rich (NYT)

Read Also:

Jeff Carter’s counter-argument that “fair” isn’t an economic term and that Buffett is being a bit disingenuous about the way his corporation and personal wealth are structured:

The Oracle of Omaha is Wrong (Points and Figures)

This content, which contains security-related opinions and/or information, is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon in any manner as professional advice, or an endorsement of any practices, products or services. There can be no guarantees or assurances that the views expressed here will be applicable for any particular facts or circumstances, and should not be relied upon in any manner. You should consult your own advisers as to legal, business, tax, and other related matters concerning any investment.

The commentary in this “post” (including any related blog, podcasts, videos, and social media) reflects the personal opinions, viewpoints, and analyses of the Ritholtz Wealth Management employees providing such comments, and should not be regarded the views of Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC. or its respective affiliates or as a description of advisory services provided by Ritholtz Wealth Management or performance returns of any Ritholtz Wealth Management Investments client.

References to any securities or digital assets, or performance data, are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others.

Wealthcast Media, an affiliate of Ritholtz Wealth Management, receives payment from various entities for advertisements in affiliated podcasts, blogs and emails. Inclusion of such advertisements does not constitute or imply endorsement, sponsorship or recommendation thereof, or any affiliation therewith, by the Content Creator or by Ritholtz Wealth Management or any of its employees. Investments in securities involve the risk of loss. For additional advertisement disclaimers see here: https://www.ritholtzwealth.com/advertising-disclaimers

Please see disclosures here.

What's been said:

Discussions found on the web
  1. private tutoring commented on Sep 20

    … [Trackback]

    […] Here you can find 25405 more Info on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/08/15/buffett-i-am-not-a-spotted-owl/ […]

  2. facebook old version commented on Sep 25

    … [Trackback]

    […] Information on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/08/15/buffett-i-am-not-a-spotted-owl/ […]

  3. blazing trader commented on Sep 26

    … [Trackback]

    […] Information to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/08/15/buffett-i-am-not-a-spotted-owl/ […]

  4. rbc canada online banking commented on Dec 04

    … [Trackback]

    […] Information on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/08/15/buffett-i-am-not-a-spotted-owl/ […]

  5. td bank easyweb commented on Dec 04

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More on on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/08/15/buffett-i-am-not-a-spotted-owl/ […]

  6. CI/CD commented on Dec 20

    … [Trackback]

    […] Info on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/08/15/buffett-i-am-not-a-spotted-owl/ […]

  7. bnc banque en ligne commented on Jan 18

    … [Trackback]

    […] Info to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2011/08/15/buffett-i-am-not-a-spotted-owl/ […]