Buffett: Stop Blaming The Rich For Income Inequality

[Anonymous]

First telling Obongo to do the right thing and approve Keystone XL and now telling us to drop the pointless class warfare shit. Poverty is the problem not someone being rich.

The world's third-richest man weighed in on the national debate over rising levels of income disparity in the United States yesterday, saying that while the gaps between the country's haves and have nots are definitely increasing, it is not the fault of those at the top. Nor will it be solved by traditional methods, like improving education or hiking the minimum wage. His solution: a pragmatic, direct way of helping incomes rise for the working poor across America by increasing access to the Earned Income Tax Credit.



"No conspiracy lies behind this depressing fact: The poor are most definitely not poor because the rich are rich," Buffett, who's net worth we clock in at $71.3 billion, wrote in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece published late yesterday. "Nor are the rich undeserving. Most of them have contributed brilliant innovations or managerial expertise to America's well-being. We all live far better because of Henry Ford, Steve Jobs, Sam Walton and the like. Instead, this widening gap is an inevitable consequence of an advanced market-based economy."



That's not to say the gap isn't growing. Citing data from The Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans, he said that the total net worth of those on the list in 1982, the first year the list was compiled, was $93 billion. In 2014, that number was $2.3 trillion, up 2,400%. At the same time, median household income in the United States rose only about 180%, he said.



Improving education, won't work fast enough, or go far enough, he said. And fighting to raise the minimum wage—currently in vogue among many on the left—won't bridge the gap either, he says, and may actually backfire by hurting employment.   "The better answer," he said, is an expansion of the earned income tax credit, a federal tax credit targeted at working class Americans which gives them a credit starting with the first dollar they earn and rises until it hits a ceiling, then phases out from there.



According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, more than 27 million taxpayers got the ETIC in 2013 and in the 2012 tax year, the average EITC was $2,982 for a family with children.



"There is no disincentive effect: A gain in wages always produces a gain in overall income," writes Buffett. "The process is simple: You file a tax return, and the government sends you a check. In essence, the EITC rewards work and provides an incentive for workers to improve their skills. Equally important, it does not distort market forces, thereby maximizing employment. "



That distortion is the main criticism of opponents of raising the minimum wage. Arbitrarily increasing the amount employers are required to pay workers, as cities like Seattle, and most recently Los Angeles have done, is a disincentive to hiring or retaining workers, especially those at the lower end of the economic latter who most need a job.



"I may wish to have all jobs pay at least $15 an hour," writes Buffett. "But that minimum would almost certainly reduce employment in a major way, crushing many workers possessing only basic skills. Smaller increases, though obviously welcome, will still leave many hardworking Americans mired in poverty."



It's an argument that probably won't sit well with many on the left accustomed to blaming employers and the rich for the pain of the poor, but, like most things Buffett says and does, it isn't aimed at being popular. It's aimed at actually getting something done.

http://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/markets/buffett-stop-blaming-the-rich-for-income-inequality/ar-BBk7Alo?ocid=mailsignoutmd">http://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/markets/ ... lsignoutmd">http://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/markets/buffett-stop-blaming-the-rich-for-income-inequality/ar-BBk7Alo?ocid=mailsignoutmd

[Renee]

None of this gathers votes on the political left so don't expect one wit of what Buffet has to say on this subject to gain any traction with the democrats and their minions.



"You didn't build that"

President Odumbo

[Anonymous]

None of this gathers votes on the political left so don't expect one wit of what Buffet has to say on this subject to gain any traction with the democrats and their minions.



"You didn't build that"

President Odumbo

It did when he was saying his secretary pays a lower rate of taxes than he does. He is yesterday's flava of the week for the American left.

[cc]

I thought it was the other way around? .. then my recycle bin cuts in automatically after a year

[Renee]

I thought it was the other way around? .. then my recycle bin cuts in automatically after a year

It was, the sleazy old bastard tried to make the case that the middle class paid more in taxes than the rich. It was exactly the kind of lie the political left in the US eats up and gets an assload of traction out of. Which makes this latest outburst all the more perplexing. One has to wonder who is cozying up to now and why.

[Romero]

In adjusted dollars, the US minimum wage was higher in 1968 than it is today. In 1965, CEOs earned 20 times what their workers made and today  it's around 230 times more.



Doesn't sound fair to me. The average American doesn't deserve to make as much as they would have made in 1968? That was nearly 50 years ago! Yet incomes and profits for the wealthy have never been higher. Gee, I wonder how that happened? Welcome back to the Industrial Revolution. Hey, we have to compete with slave labour in Asia so I can buy another mansion.



Buffett is worth over $70 billion. He's living in a fantasy world. Inequality has made him so greedy and wealthy, it's like asking a crack addict what they think about more crack. He has the mentality of a medieval king. Not exactly an unbiased expert on the subject.



People living on minimum wage can't hide their profits in shell companies and the Cayman Islands. They don't get millions of dollars in tax breaks because, well, they don't quite have the millions of dollars to get them or lobby for them.



Yet asking for enough money just to live on while working hard is too much. The 99% have to sacrifice while the 1% conveniently lap it all up.



Buffet is no Henry Ford or Steve Jobs. He made all his money by simply investing other people's money.



It's certainly not the poor causing income equality.

[cc]

"Inside some of us is a thin person struggling to get out, but they can usually be sedated with a few pieces of chocolate cake."

One of the best

[Romero]

Six global banks will pay more than $5.6bn to settle allegations that they rigged foreign exchange markets, in a scandal the FBI said involved criminality "on a massive scale".



Four banks also agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to fix prices and rig bids in the $5.3tn a day forex market, in what they hope will draw a line under one of the biggest cases of misconduct in banking since the global financial crisis.



One Barclays trader wrote in a November 5, 2010 chat: "If you aint cheating, you aint trying", according to the New York Department of Financial Services, which was part of the settlement.



"Questions will be asked as to why no CEO or senior figure has resigned at any of these banks as the size of this fine and the investigations so far have revealed the rigging of forex was part of the culture of these banks," he said.



The revelation that traders colluded to move around currency exchange rates was particularly embarrassing for the banks because it occurred after they had paid billions of dollars to settle claims that their traders had tried to rig interbank lending rates.



http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/23fa681c-fe73-11e4-be9f-00144feabdc0.html#slide0">//http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/23fa681c-fe73-11e4-be9f-00144feabdc0.html#slide0

When someone steals $5, it's a crime. When banks steal $5 billion, they're rewarded with a slap on the wrist, bonuses and higher profits. Billions in fraud and not one single fraudster sees any jail time.

[Renee]

And our resident left-O-nut comes out of the woodwork.



Yes, yes everyone who flips burgers or stocks a grocery store shelf DESERVES $15 dollars an hour or more. ac_toofunny It's only.......FAIR!  ac_rollseyes

[Bricktop]

Six global banks will pay more than $5.6bn to settle allegations that they rigged foreign exchange markets, in a scandal the FBI said involved criminality "on a massive scale".



Four banks also agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to fix prices and rig bids in the $5.3tn a day forex market, in what they hope will draw a line under one of the biggest cases of misconduct in banking since the global financial crisis.



One Barclays trader wrote in a November 5, 2010 chat: "If you aint cheating, you aint trying", according to the New York Department of Financial Services, which was part of the settlement.



"Questions will be asked as to why no CEO or senior figure has resigned at any of these banks as the size of this fine and the investigations so far have revealed the rigging of forex was part of the culture of these banks," he said.



The revelation that traders colluded to move around currency exchange rates was particularly embarrassing for the banks because it occurred after they had paid billions of dollars to settle claims that their traders had tried to rig interbank lending rates.



http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/23fa681c-fe73-11e4-be9f-00144feabdc0.html#slide0">//http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/23fa681c-fe73-11e4-be9f-00144feabdc0.html#slide0

When someone steals $5, it's a crime. When banks steal $5 billion, they're rewarded with a slap on the wrist, bonuses and higher profits. Billions in fraud and not one single fraudster sees any jail time.

The irony goes further. If the banks are fined, and their bottom line is threatened, what do they, and every other corporation in that situation do?



Raise their prices and pass the loss to their customers.



They should not just be fined; the management must be compelled to resign, without salary or remuneration, and ALL profit allocated to welfare and public benefit. Crimes such as those which they have been found guilty of should be punished with REAL force.

[Bricktop]

In adjusted dollars, the US minimum wage was higher in 1968 than it is today. In 1965, CEOs earned 20 times what their workers made and today  it's around 230 times more.



Doesn't sound fair to me. The average American doesn't deserve to make as much as they would have made in 1968? That was nearly 50 years ago! Yet incomes and profits for the wealthy have never been higher. Gee, I wonder how that happened? Welcome back to the Industrial Revolution. Hey, we have to compete with slave labour in Asia so I can buy another mansion.



Buffett is worth over $70 billion. He's living in a fantasy world. Inequality has made him so greedy and wealthy, it's like asking a crack addict what they think about more crack. He has the mentality of a medieval king. Not exactly an unbiased expert on the subject.



People living on minimum wage can't hide their profits in shell companies and the Cayman Islands. They don't get millions of dollars in tax breaks because, well, they don't quite have the millions of dollars to get them or lobby for them.



Yet asking for enough money just to live on while working hard is too much. The 99% have to sacrifice while the 1% conveniently lap it all up.



Buffet is no Henry Ford or Steve Jobs. He made all his money by simply investing other people's money.



It's certainly not the poor causing income equality.

I agree. A multi-billionaire with more money than he could ever spend saying "Don't blame me" is an insult to our intelligence. Not only that, it only enhances the growing anger of the populace to these parasitic, pompous charlatans.



When one of these obscene and prosperous tries to say its OK for him to have 70 billion whilst some of his COUNTRYMEN are struggling to eat, or visit a doctor, or receive an education, there is a massive inequity and social injustice. It is exactly that "let them eat cake" attitude which saw a lot of French wealthy part company with their head.

[asal]

And our resident left-O-nut comes out of the woodwork.



Yes, yes everyone who flips burgers or stocks a grocery store shelf DESERVES $15 dollars an hour or more. ac_toofunny It's only.......FAIR!  ac_rollseyes

The top can spare some for the lower rung.  It's 2015 - wages have been stagnant our whole lives.  $15 is completely reasonable (or it wouldn't have gone this far to be implemented - it's a tough argument to ask for a piece that threatens the bottom line). ac_sothere

[asal]

Six global banks will pay more than $5.6bn to settle allegations that they rigged foreign exchange markets, in a scandal the FBI said involved criminality "on a massive scale".



Four banks also agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to fix prices and rig bids in the $5.3tn a day forex market, in what they hope will draw a line under one of the biggest cases of misconduct in banking since the global financial crisis.



One Barclays trader wrote in a November 5, 2010 chat: "If you aint cheating, you aint trying", according to the New York Department of Financial Services, which was part of the settlement.



"Questions will be asked as to why no CEO or senior figure has resigned at any of these banks as the size of this fine and the investigations so far have revealed the rigging of forex was part of the culture of these banks," he said.



The revelation that traders colluded to move around currency exchange rates was particularly embarrassing for the banks because it occurred after they had paid billions of dollars to settle claims that their traders had tried to rig interbank lending rates.



http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/23fa681c-fe73-11e4-be9f-00144feabdc0.html#slide0">//http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/23fa681c-fe73-11e4-be9f-00144feabdc0.html#slide0

When someone steals $5, it's a crime. When banks steal $5 billion, they're rewarded with a slap on the wrist, bonuses and higher profits. Billions in fraud and not one single fraudster sees any jail time.

I saw something today you'll like:



https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10408845_1125750300775298_2052447650935350164_n.jpg?oh=bb3c6a397dfcf660f4b75316d8249451&oe=55C20389">

[Renee]

And our resident left-O-nut comes out of the woodwork.



Yes, yes everyone who flips burgers or stocks a grocery store shelf DESERVES $15 dollars an hour or more. ac_toofunny It's only.......FAIR!  ac_rollseyes

The top can spare some for the lower rung.  It's 2015 - wages have been stagnant our whole lives.  $15 is completely reasonable (or it wouldn't have gone this far to be implemented - it's a tough argument to ask for a piece that threatens the bottom line). ac_sothere

When are people like you going to fully understand the damaging implications of what you propose and want? Is that ever going to happen in my lifetime? Just let me know now if I should give up hope.

[asal]

ac_cool   You see it as damaging.  In the short term it is.  In the long term things would be more stable than they are now.  This would be such a challenge to argue.  The thing is, it won't happen as we want (those of us who want better low income wages) in our lifetime.  That is my reassurance to you.   ac_flower  It's an academic exercise only, but it would be nice.