Should the Super Rich Be Paying More in Taxes?

[Intrepid_Chef]

Whatever your political persuasion, you gotta love Warren Buffet ... yes the SAME Warren Buffet that owns Pampered Chef. He presents a very thoughtful, rational, well thought-out argument for raising his taxes, saying higher taxes do not kill jobs and he thinks it's ridiculous that he pays only 15 percent of his income when most of us pay so much more!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/opinion/stop-coddling-the-super-rich.html?src=me&ref=general

 

[Melissa78]

This was on the world news. I love him!

 

[pampered1224]

The part I think is so funny is that he has been saying this since 2010! Bill Gates has said it, Oprah said it too a while back! The only ones not saying YES and go for it are the Millionaire politicians! Our politicians are way too out of touch with their people, they do not listen and God forbid they give up any of their own wealth. Oh, they may have to give up the house in Malibu and Hawaii and the Hamptons and oh, yeah, lets not forget about writing off the yacht because they entertained a congress person once in the last 12 months! I am sick to death of those morons as they have no idea how much it costs to live in the real world. I think it is funny that a man, a woman and another man who have more kindness, awareness and BALLS than our entire governments put together, are the ones who are NOT running our country! And it is a shame that our government, for the people, by the people are such selfish bums.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

You could take ALL the income of the wealthiest Americans and not make a dent in the national debt.This country does not have a revenue problem - there is plenty of tax revenue. This county has a SPENDING problem - and until Washington stops spending money it doesn't have, no amount of tax revenue will ever solve the problem.

 

[Sheila]

Well said KG! Unfortunately, they don't always know where to make the cuts. Like a few months back when the military was threatened with no paycheck! I won't get on that soap box.

But here you go ... tick tock, tick tock ... U.S. National Debt Clock : Real Time

 

[ChefCKHall]

And my husband works for the Post Office...30 years. He is the hardest working, most ethical man I know and is beloved at the Post Office here. I would hate to see him lose his job because they can't slash all the middle managament that sucks up all the money the Post Office needs to run.

 

[scottcooks]

Warren Buffet could pay taxes for all Berkshire-Hathaway employees... what do you think? Kidding aside, here is some profound education about the debt games.
(1) Yet another way to look at the Federal budget •U.S. Tax revenue: $2,170,000,000,000
• Fed budget: $3,820,000,000,000
• New debt: $ 1,650,000,000,000
• National debt: $14,271,000,000,000
• Recent budget cut: $ 38,500,000,000Now, let's remove 8 zeros and pretend it's a household budget:
• Annual family income: $21,700
• Money the family spent: $38,200
• New debt on the credit card: $16,500
• Outstanding balance on the credit card: $142,710
• Total budget cuts: $385Write to every congress person, senator and president you can - and ask them to balance the Federal budget within 5 years. President Clinton did it! (2) a more historical perspective with a solution, through a very well done (but really long) video:The Secret of Oz - Winner, Best Docu of 2010 v.1.09.11 - YouTubeFinally, maybe President Obama could do a Roosevelt style back-to-work with fixing our aging infrastructure - bridges, road bases, electrical grid, city water systems - have you been to visit a National Park lately? They need some updating. People could go work for a couple months in a Job Corps kind of setting.

 

[carlajanes]

i agree with y'all 100%!!!! what would happen if we told the government or any other creditors....well....i just can't afford to pay you right now but i will whenever my situation changes....yet we keep spending all our money on trips, eating out, clothes etc....
if we are close in our bills for the month...we STOP SPENDING and make do with what we have. makes sense that our government would do the same....oh but wait...we are talking about politicians most of whom don't have a clue what it is to try to make ends meet.....

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

What is really annoying is that when a congressman comes up with a budget plan that balances the budget, repairs the entitlement programs and stops the drunken-sailor spending - he gets vilified and is accused to trying to throw grandma into the street.

 

[BethCooks4U]

You could take ALL the income of the wealthiest Americans and not make a dent in the national debt.

This country does not have a revenue problem - there is plenty of tax revenue.

This county has a SPENDING problem - and until Washington stops spending money it doesn't have, no amount of tax revenue will ever solve the problem.

So just because it won't SOLVE the problem, we shouldn't bother trying to make the tax code more fair and even? I am so tired of hearing how we all have to cut back but don't touch the rich and corporations because they create jobs. Yeah, they are the ones that are outsourcing all our jobs so they can make even more. This theory has been proved wrong so loudly but its like people are blind. Buffett is one at at least is trying to be reasonable.

And I won't even start on what I think about politicians. "Close down government but I still get my paycheck because I am the important one". Please. I say fire them all and get some reasonable people that actually care about this country in there. (okay I did get started...)

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

You have to stop the bleeding before you can set the broken bones.

 

[mountainmama74]

Warren Buffet could pay taxes for all Berkshire-Hathaway employees... what do you think? Kidding aside, here is some profound education about the debt games.
(1) Yet another way to look at the Federal budget •

U.S. Tax revenue: $2,170,000,000,000
• Fed budget: $3,820,000,000,000
• New debt: $ 1,650,000,000,000
• National debt: $14,271,000,000,000
• Recent budget cut: $ 38,500,000,000

Now, let's remove 8 zeros and pretend it's a household budget:
• Annual family income: $21,700
• Money the family spent: $38,200
• New debt on the credit card: $16,500
• Outstanding balance on the credit card: $142,710
• Total budget cuts: $385

Write to every congress person, senator and president you can - and ask them to balance the Federal budget within 5 years. President Clinton did it!

(2) a more historical perspective with a solution, through a very well done (but really long) video:

The Secret of Oz - Winner, Best Docu of 2010 v.1.09.11 - YouTube

Finally, maybe President Obama could do a Roosevelt style back-to-work with fixing our aging infrastructure - bridges, road bases, electrical grid, city water systems - have you been to visit a National Park lately? They need some updating. People could go work for a couple months in a Job Corps kind of setting.

I love this. It's a little hard to see past all those 0's - and I tend to be math-minded! But this makes it much easier to process.

 

[pampered1224]

I am NOT saying that giving up some of their income would make that big a difference. All I am saying is that they all live in a land where they have no idea how to not just keep spending. They have no sense of budgeting because they do not have to in real life. They can afford to live privately in a fantasy land where all you do is spend, spend, and spend more on the dumbest things just because they can. Here is a new one for you that was just added by the conservative GOP candidates for president. Now you tell me this is the type of thinking you really want to elect to be our next president. And do not tell me this won't cost US a ton of money.
This is from the Human Rights Campaign and I also heard about this elsewhere too so there is something to it. You all know "Forming a commission" is a fancy way to say, we are spending good money again to do something stupid and will cost you all a ton of money! "We've come to expect GOP candidates to call for a hateful constitutional amendment banning marriage equality. But we never expected them to support forming a commission to investigate pro-equality advocates like you and me.I'm not making this up. Several of the GOP presidential candidates have now signed a pledge to appoint "a commission to investigate harassment" of anti-LGBT activists. It's part of a years-long effort by right-wing groups to protect their mega donors from being held accountable for their hateful views – and it's picking up speed. Fast.This witch hunt commission would usher in a despicable era of anti-equality McCarthyism – and it's a sign of just how radical the right has become."So now tell me again that any of our political representatives think at all about how to reduce the budget. They have not had to in their lives because they can afford to keep throwing away money without ever thinking of the long term repercussions. They do not have to worry about loosing a home because they have two or three more to move into. Or as John McCain, (R), said, "I don't know how many houses I have." Or even Gwen Moore, (D), who could not tell a reporter in Milwaukee how much she pays in county/city taxes on her home. Mine were $2734! That out of touch mentality is what scares the heck out me and is doing us all harm. Not them! Ignorance is bliss is BS for the rest of us. And it sure does not convince me that we will ever have a balanced budget for more than the twenty minutes it will take to vote on it. Because it will NEVER matter who gets into those offices because some A-H&$l will put something like building a new Whitehouse in the Hampton's because it is fiscally responsible to make sure the president can vacation while working. I do not give a rats arse which side they are on, they are not on our side in any way shape or form because they simply can not stoop to the level of the poor and hard working. AND IF YOU DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM, you will never know! Now that I have said that and before Greg pulls the plug, I am shutting up.
THEY ARE ALL A BUNCH OF BOOBS WHO DO NOT HAVE A CLUE - I DO NOT CARE WHAT "COLOR" THEY ARE REPRESENTED BY - THEY ARE ALL REPREHENSIBLE! AND NO ONE IS HOLDING ANY OF THEM ACCOUNTABLE. WHY? BECAUSE YOU AND I CAN NOT AFFORD TO PUT REAL PEOPLE IN OFFICE! How's that for showing how budgeting works! We spend our money on food, they spend theirs on campaigning! And talk about a waste!