Why does Warren Buffet want higher taxes?

[Quantum Windbag]

I can agree with that too - I'm met plenty of bad teachers. But I've met more good teachers than bad.

My problem with with the current anti-teacher rhetoric that's been coming out of the right wing in the last 6 months. 100K isn't a ridiculous amount of money to pay a teacher - if anything, we should pay them more.

I'm firmly in the camp that teaching (for the right reasons) is one of the most honorable professions in the world.

I challenge you to point out anyone who is down on teachers. The rhetoric you are talking about is against unions, not teachers.

Here's one:
http://www.usmessageboard.com/3418990-post3.html

The majority of complaints were with the unions - which I agree with to some extent (I'm on the fence about teacher's unions).

But there was an anti-intellectual undercurrent as well - "Those who can't do, teach", "teachers are lazy", etc.

I'm not going to waste my time searching the forums, but you know as well as I do that people made those arguments.

One of the best teachers I ever had used to tell me the same thing. I personally think teaching is an underrated, not underpaid, profession, but the simple truth is that very few people go into teaching because they are great at doing something and decided to share their knowledge.

 

[theDoctorisIn]

I challenge you to point out anyone who is down on teachers. The rhetoric you are talking about is against unions, not teachers.

Here's one:
http://www.usmessageboard.com/3418990-post3.html

The majority of complaints were with the unions - which I agree with to some extent (I'm on the fence about teacher's unions).

But there was an anti-intellectual undercurrent as well - "Those who can't do, teach", "teachers are lazy", etc.

I'm not going to waste my time searching the forums, but you know as well as I do that people made those arguments.

One of the best teachers I ever had used to tell me the same thing. I personally think teaching is an underrated, not underpaid, profession, but the simple truth is that very few people go into teaching because they are great at doing something and decided to share their knowledge.

I'm going to have to disagree with you there. My entire family are teachers, and my grandfather made seminal discoveries in his specific field of physics - leading to OLED technology - as a professor at NYU.

 

[theDoctorisIn]

I guess you missed Bill and Melissa Gates Foundation.

He gave it to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation....

FORTUNE Magazine: Warren Buffett gives away his fortune - Jun. 25, 2006

Perhaps you have trouble reading your own links.

This news was indeed stunning. Buffett, 75, has for decades said his wealth would go to philanthropy but has just as steadily indicated the handoff would be made at his death. Now he was revising the timetable.
"I know what I want to do," he said, "and it makes sense to get going." On that spring day his plan was uncertain in some of its details; today it is essentially complete. And it is typical Buffett: rational, original, breaking the mold of how extremely rich people donate money.
Buffett has pledged to gradually give 85% of his Berkshire stock to five foundations. A dominant five-sixths of the shares will go to the world's largest philanthropic organization, the $30 billion Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, whose principals are close friends of Buffett's (a connection that began in 1991, when a mutual friend introduced Buffett and Bill Gates).

He has actually only given about $7.5 billion to the Gates Foundation. Most of the foundation's budget came from the pockets of Bill Gates, not Buffet. He is great at talking, but falls short when it comes to actually living up to his "principles."

Perhaps you should have read the rest of the link. He is donating, over the course of many years, 85% of his holding of Berkshire Hathaway.

At current share price, (or share price when the article was written), he will have donated 37 Billion dollars.

Because the value of Buffett's gifts are tied to a future, unknowable price of Berkshire, there is no way to put a total dollar value on them. But the number of shares earmarked to be given have a huge value today: $37 billion.

That alone would be the largest philanthropic gift in history. And if Buffett is right in thinking that Berkshire's price will trend upward, the eventual amount given could far exceed that figure.

 

[del]

bullshit. If there were a real correlation between low taxes on the wealthy and job creation we'd have seen as much during the era of bush tax cuts FOR the wealthy.

Um....Hate to break it to you old bean....The unemployment number during the bush years was give-or-take 5%....Statistically full employment.

Try again.

lies, damn lies and ...

try again

 

[Lakhota]

Why the rich should pay more taxes

Daily Kos: Why the Rich SHOULD Pay Higher Taxes

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RURd4r07t9w&feature=player_embedded]Richest400Infographic 2music - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Here's one:
http://www.usmessageboard.com/3418990-post3.html

The majority of complaints were with the unions - which I agree with to some extent (I'm on the fence about teacher's unions).

But there was an anti-intellectual undercurrent as well - "Those who can't do, teach", "teachers are lazy", etc.

I'm not going to waste my time searching the forums, but you know as well as I do that people made those arguments.

One of the best teachers I ever had used to tell me the same thing. I personally think teaching is an underrated, not underpaid, profession, but the simple truth is that very few people go into teaching because they are great at doing something and decided to share their knowledge.

I'm going to have to disagree with you there. My entire family are teachers, and my grandfather made seminal discoveries in his specific field of physics - leading to OLED technology - as a professor at NYU.

How does that change the simple fact that most teachers are not experts in their field?

 

[theDoctorisIn]

One of the best teachers I ever had used to tell me the same thing. I personally think teaching is an underrated, not underpaid, profession, but the simple truth is that very few people go into teaching because they are great at doing something and decided to share their knowledge.

I'm going to have to disagree with you there. My entire family are teachers, and my grandfather made seminal discoveries in his specific field of physics - leading to OLED technology - as a professor at NYU.

How does that change the simple fact that most teachers are not experts in their field?

It doesn't. But what does that "simple fact" have to do with anything?

 

[Quantum Windbag]

He gave it to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation....

FORTUNE Magazine: Warren Buffett gives away his fortune - Jun. 25, 2006

Perhaps you have trouble reading your own links.



He has actually only given about $7.5 billion to the Gates Foundation. Most of the foundation's budget came from the pockets of Bill Gates, not Buffet. He is great at talking, but falls short when it comes to actually living up to his "principles."

Perhaps you should have read the rest of the link. He is donating, over the course of many years, 85% of his holding of Berkshire Hathaway.

At current share price, (or share price when the article was written), he will have donated 37 Billion dollars.

Because the value of Buffett's gifts are tied to a future, unknowable price of Berkshire, there is no way to put a total dollar value on them. But the number of shares earmarked to be given have a huge value today: $37 billion.

That alone would be the largest philanthropic gift in history. And if Buffett is right in thinking that Berkshire's price will trend upward, the eventual amount given could far exceed that figure.

I read the link, what I dispute is your claims that he donated, past tense, $30 billion, $35 billion, or you newest number of $37 billion.

By the way, if he is so gung ho about paying taxes why is he giving away his money? If he simply kept it and left it to his heirs, not charity, the government would end up with 90% of it. This way the government ends up with 0.

But feel free to keep making up numbers in an attempt to defend the indefensible.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

I'm going to have to disagree with you there. My entire family are teachers, and my grandfather made seminal discoveries in his specific field of physics - leading to OLED technology - as a professor at NYU.

How does that change the simple fact that most teachers are not experts in their field?

It doesn't. But what does that "simple fact" have to do with anything?

You are the one making an issue of it, not me.

 

[shintao]

The Left has been making a lot of noise about Buffets call for higher taxes, and some of the less informed people here have been arguing about it for a couple of days in this thread.

http://www.usmessageboard.com/politics/180530-warren-buffett-stop-coddling-the-super-rich.html

Here are a couple of interesting facts for everyone who holds Buffet up as a hero for being willing to pay more in taxes.

Buffett Profits from Taxes He Supports
Buffett regularly lobbies for higher estate taxes. He also has repeatedly bought up family businesses forced to sell because the heirs’ death-tax bill exceeded the business’s liquid assets. He owns life insurance companies that rely on the death tax in order to sell their estate-planning businesses.
Buffett Profits from Government Spending
Buffett made about a billion dollars off of the Wall Street bailout by investing in Goldman Sachs on the assumption Uncle Sam would bail it out. He also is planning investments in ethanol giant ADM and government-contracting leviathan General Dynamics.
If your businesses’ revenue comes from the U.S. Treasury, of course you want more wealth.

Warren Buffett continuing to profit from his investment in the bailout. Why is this okay? | Timothy P. Carney | Beltway Confidential | Washington Examiner

Is it any surprise that a man who makes money off of the government tax policy wants the government to charge higher taxes?

LOL! What I find interesting, is that you agree with Buffet, and can't refute any of his facts.

 

[theDoctorisIn]

Perhaps you have trouble reading your own links.



He has actually only given about $7.5 billion to the Gates Foundation. Most of the foundation's budget came from the pockets of Bill Gates, not Buffet. He is great at talking, but falls short when it comes to actually living up to his "principles."

Perhaps you should have read the rest of the link. He is donating, over the course of many years, 85% of his holding of Berkshire Hathaway.

At current share price, (or share price when the article was written), he will have donated 37 Billion dollars.

Because the value of Buffett's gifts are tied to a future, unknowable price of Berkshire, there is no way to put a total dollar value on them. But the number of shares earmarked to be given have a huge value today: $37 billion.

That alone would be the largest philanthropic gift in history. And if Buffett is right in thinking that Berkshire's price will trend upward, the eventual amount given could far exceed that figure.

I read the link, what I dispute is your claims that he donated, past tense, $30 billion, $35 billion, or you newest number of $37 billion.

By the way, if he is so gung ho about paying taxes why is he giving away his money? If he simply kept it and left it to his heirs, not charity, the government would end up with 90% of it. This way the government ends up with 0.

But feel free to keep making up numbers in an attempt to defend the indefensible.

"Defend" the "indefensible"? What has Buffett done that is "indefensible"?

You mean not donating all your money to the government is "indefensible"?

You're using whatever tactics you can think of to attack Buffett because he disagrees with you, to the point of returning constantly to the meme of "he should just donate his money or he's a hypocrite".

By the way, if you're going to complain about "making up numbers", you shouldn't do it immediately after making up some numbers of your own. (The estate tax is 35% of everything over $5 Million, not 90%)

 

[theDoctorisIn]

How does that change the simple fact that most teachers are not experts in their field?

It doesn't. But what does that "simple fact" have to do with anything?

You are the one making an issue of it, not me.

Actually, all I said was that I disagree with you, due to the discoveries by members of my own family while they were teachers, and the fact that currently, my mother, father, uncle, aunt, and both living grandparents are either active or retired teachers. I didn't "make an issue" of it.

 

[shintao]

Buffet a hero? The man is a slime ball who disowned his own granddaughter for speaking out about income inequality.

Another guy who agrees with Buffet, and has nothing to refute the facts.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Perhaps you should have read the rest of the link. He is donating, over the course of many years, 85% of his holding of Berkshire Hathaway.

At current share price, (or share price when the article was written), he will have donated 37 Billion dollars.

I read the link, what I dispute is your claims that he donated, past tense, $30 billion, $35 billion, or you newest number of $37 billion.

By the way, if he is so gung ho about paying taxes why is he giving away his money? If he simply kept it and left it to his heirs, not charity, the government would end up with 90% of it. This way the government ends up with 0.

But feel free to keep making up numbers in an attempt to defend the indefensible.

"Defend" the "indefensible"? What has Buffett done that is "indefensible"?

You mean not donating all your money to the government is "indefensible"?

You're using whatever tactics you can think of to attack Buffett because he disagrees with you, to the point of returning constantly to the meme of "he should just donate his money or he's a hypocrite".

By the way, if you're going to complain about "making up numbers", you shouldn't do it immediately after making up some numbers of your own. (The estate tax is 35% of everything over $5 Million, not 90%)

You keep saying that he made a donation he has only said he would make in the future, and then you keep changing how much he donated in your imagination. That is the indefensible part of what you are saying.

Notice how I have gone through this entire post and not said anything negative about Buffet? That is because my point here is about you, feel free to take it personally.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

It doesn't. But what does that "simple fact" have to do with anything?

You are the one making an issue of it, not me.

Actually, all I said was that I disagree with you, due to the discoveries by members of my own family while they were teachers, and the fact that currently, my mother, father, uncle, aunt, and both living grandparents are either active or retired teachers. I didn't "make an issue" of it.

And all I pointed out was that your family is not most teachers. In other words, you are trying to say that, because of the exceptional quality of your grandfather, that somehow proves that most teachers are exceptionally qualified and geniuses in their field. You chose to take exception to a fact, and even offered an anecdote that made it about your family.

You made an issue of it. That is your problem, not mine.

 

[theDoctorisIn]

I read the link, what I dispute is your claims that he donated, past tense, $30 billion, $35 billion, or you newest number of $37 billion.

By the way, if he is so gung ho about paying taxes why is he giving away his money? If he simply kept it and left it to his heirs, not charity, the government would end up with 90% of it. This way the government ends up with 0.

But feel free to keep making up numbers in an attempt to defend the indefensible.

"Defend" the "indefensible"? What has Buffett done that is "indefensible"?

You mean not donating all your money to the government is "indefensible"?

You're using whatever tactics you can think of to attack Buffett because he disagrees with you, to the point of returning constantly to the meme of "he should just donate his money or he's a hypocrite".

By the way, if you're going to complain about "making up numbers", you shouldn't do it immediately after making up some numbers of your own. (The estate tax is 35% of everything over $5 Million, not 90%)

You keep saying that he made a donation he has only said he would make in the future, and then you keep changing how much he donated in your imagination. That is the indefensible part of what you are saying.

Notice how I have gone through this entire post and not said anything negative about Buffet? That is because my point here is about you, feel free to take it personally.

Sorry to hear that I get under your skin so much. Notice how I have gone this entire thread and not really said anything negative about you. That's because I don't care about you at all.

Feel free to take it however you want.

 

[theDoctorisIn]

You are the one making an issue of it, not me.

Actually, all I said was that I disagree with you, due to the discoveries by members of my own family while they were teachers, and the fact that currently, my mother, father, uncle, aunt, and both living grandparents are either active or retired teachers. I didn't "make an issue" of it.

And all I pointed out was that your family is not most teachers. In other words, you are trying to say that, because of the exceptional quality of your grandfather, that somehow proves that most teachers are exceptionally qualified and geniuses in their field. You chose to take exception to a fact, and even offered an anecdote that made it about your family.

You made an issue of it. That is your problem, not mine.

You know, I'm not going to bother anymore. I thought you were an intelligent poster, but you've gone out of your way to prove me wrong, and act like a child. So, whatever.

 

[shintao]

Warren Buffett has his money, what does he care about paying more in taxes. It is the people that want to be successful, Want to be a Bill gates that those extra taxes hurt. All these extra taxes just hold people back keep them from investing into their businesses, keeps them from hiring workers.

Ah, if they are in Bill Gates reacg, they can pay more taxes. Those taxes hold no one back from a business or hiring. But I am glad you are so concerned. We should give the poor homes, clothes, training, and make them workers who can be the next Bill Gates.Have them send my a ten million & I will put proplr to work.

So the government can do better with your money then you right? Does anybody think a million dollars is a lot of money if you own a business? The government wastes 100s of billions of dollars a year and we want to give them more of our hard earned money? Makes no sense

Yep, we can all do better with our money, so lets stop taxing Americans and move onto big Mexico. Yep, the government is wasting our money, so cancel Christmas and stop paying taxes.

 

[Synthaholic]

bullshit. If there were a real correlation between low taxes on the wealthy and job creation we'd have seen as much during the era of bush tax cuts FOR the wealthy.

Um....Hate to break it to you old bean....The unemployment number during the bush years was give-or-take 5%....Statistically full employment.

Try again.

But there was no net gain of American jobs during his eight years.

 

[Mr. Shaman]

Why does Warren Buffet want higher taxes?

'Cause he's not some.....

...immature, "conservative"/Koch-style, greedy prick.

You Teabaggers might be pleasantly-surprised, at the possibilities (realized).....when (and, IF) those first pangs of maturity....

....start kicking-in!!!