Such farcical behavior is now easily seen as synonymous with cynicism and misanthropy.
Likewise, Warren Buffet's article in today's New York Times is a "nice shiny nickel" passed out to all the fools who buy into the Left's "coddled super rich" trope.
Warren Buffet believes he can buy your souls for a nickel. All he has to do is hand out an opinion piece in the NYT about taxing those who make over $1 million a year, and he believes you will always think of him, from now on, as a fair-minded person; one who we, the average people, would never want to target.
Make no mistake, this article from Warren Buffet is not a policy proposal, it is an arrogant and sneering Public Relations maneuver.
From the New York Times:
for those making more than $1 million — there were 236,883 such households in 2009 — I would raise rates immediately on taxable income in excess of $1 million, including, of course, dividends and capital gains. And for those who make $10 million or more — there were 8,274 in 2009 — I would suggest an additional increase in rate.Commentary from Reliapundit:
So, let me get this straight:
Buffett, you think we can balance the budget by taxing 245,000 Americans at a marginally higher rate?
YOU'RE INSANE.
THE DEFICIT THIS YEAR WILL BE $1.4 TRILLION.
IF YOU TOOK ALL THE ASSETS AWAY FROM THESE FOLKS, IT WOULD NOT BALANCE THE BUDGET - AND YOU WILL HAVE KILLED THE GOOSE THAT LAYS THE GOLDEN EGGS.
WE SPEND TO MUCH; WE ARE TAXED ENOUGH.
7 comments:
I thought that Mr. Rockefeller handed out dimes. According to the wikipedia, he gave dimes to adults and nickels to children. (He even gave a dime to Harvey Firestone.) But consider the buying power of a dime - or a nickel - in 1920. It would have bought you more than a dollar would buy you today. A sad commentary on the debasement of the currency.
You're right. It was dimes to adults, nickels to children. But I shortened it, because the point is not so much the amount as it is the attempt to buy someone into submission.
Buffet's attempt is even cheaper and more obnoxious.
Actually I think John D Rockefeller was incomparably better than Warren Buffett. Rockefeller rationalized and improved a major American industry, resulting in better products and lower prices to consumers, and his wisdom and foresight led to the establishment of dozens of important institutions - universities, colleges, research institutes, museums, and so forth. Buffeet is comparatively amere financier who invests his money in the endeavors that are directed by much more creative men than he.
Just as the currency has become debased, so have our titans of industry become debased, as we see when a mere investor, such as Buffett, is held to comparison with a creator of wealth and institutions and industries like Rockefeller.
Punditarian,
Your points are absolutely valid. I do not mean to demean Rockerfeller, only to say his attempt at rehabilitating his public image (which was damaged by the vocal resentments of those who did not have his ingenuity, intelligence, and fortitude) were pathetic and out of tune with reality.
I think my point is also valid. Do you understand? Perhaps you disagree, but I hope I have made myself clear.
Another thing to keep in mind is that our captains of industry are building the intellectual railway now, they are no longer building railways of iron and steel.
Our equivalent captains of industry would be Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Steve Jobs, Henry Samueli, etc.
I admire these men greatly, and I think they deserve to be admired.
I think you are right about the things that a wealthy man might do in order to enhance his image. And I agree about today's captains of industry.
But I don't think Buffett's primary motivation is to enhance his image. I think he is infected with the folk-marxist claptrap that infests the universities and the media.
And either he doesn't know the first thing about taxation and finance, or he is lying through his teeth.
He is too smart to not understand this. He is playing to his audience. He is feeding the crocodile. That's my opinion. In a words, he SUCKS.
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