Our Gross Wealth Inequality in the US

"Warren Buffet just became the 5th American worth $100 billion. A year ago, there was 1..."

"...The pandemic has minted 50 new U.S. billionaires. Think about how a system that causes so much pain allows for those at the top to gain so much." --Dan Price @DanPriceSeattle

Oh, Yeah. Tax the Already-Wealthy

I am, in fact, in favor of what some people claim to be a new thought of eliminating the possibility of being a billionaire, I have to say. Strongly in favor.

For anyone who knows me, this will come as no surprise.

If you're worth 999 million dollars---isn't that enough?

What could you possibly want that isn't attainable for you at that level of wealth?

Jeff Bezos of Amazon, et. al, is worth an estimated $130.7 billion dollars.

Not only that, but he had to be recently publicly shamed into giving his employees a raise up to a whopping $15 per hour. And even then, he took some away from their benefits plan. That is some chutzpah.

Seriously.

That is insane.

And immoral. Just obscene.

There are people, not just in your own nation but across the planet that are hungry, indeed, starving, literally, homeless and a lot more--but you need, somehow, a billion dollars? And/or more?

Really?

Besides the poor of the nation and world, we should all keep in mind, as has been said elsewhere, many times, that when the US was collecting 90% and 70% taxes of the uber-wealthy, we were a far stronger nation, we built a national highway system and went to the moon, among all else.

So yeah, let's do this.

Links:

Yes, Tax the Rich. But Do It Right

Fact Sheet: Taxing Wealthy Americans 

Tax the rich: Millionaires' tax popular among public

Poll: Majority approve of Warren wealth tax

Rich Class fighting 99%, winning big-time 

Republicans' "Wealthcare" Bill Is Just More Class Warfare

It needs to be said, pointed out and emphasized just what this new AHCA, "Trumpcare" is, at its heart. It is, at its core, not concerned with heath care virtually at all. If it were, more Americans would be assured of having health insurance, not less.

No, at it's core, this is yet one more, again, Republican Party, Right Wing money grab for the already-wealthy.

Republican Health Care Bill Delivers 

Big Tax Cut For The Rich

House Health Bill: Tax Cuts for Wealthy, 

Insurers, and Drug Companies, 

Paid for by Low- and Middle-Income Families

One Certainty of G.O.P. Health Plan: 

Tax Cuts for the Wealthy

The ACHA Bill Is a Tax Cut for Rich Americans

Senate Health-Care Bill: Tax Cuts for Rich, Skimpy Coverage for Everyone Else

Trumpcare: Republican Plan Is Big Tax Cut 

for Rich, Graph Shows

Rich get tax cuts under 

Obamacare repeal bill

Warren Buffett famously said it so right and this, some years ago.

“There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.”

Missourians got, in effect, a pay cut when their new, Republican, pretty boy Governor, Eric Greitens and his fellow Republicans put in their "Right to Work" legislation recently. This just makes it that much tougher for the middle- and lower-classes to get, have and keep health insurance.

But they're proposing this for all 50 states.

Link:  Warren Buffett

KMBC 9 News goes viral on the interwebs

With a selfie.  KMBC 9 News Kansas City

Best selfie ever? http://on.kmbc.com/1mOXMj5

Making it easy for the wealthy in America

"Them that has, gets."

The Oracle of Omaha on the Republicans' tax plans

They think the world of his investing ability. They just don't want to discuss political or social policy with him.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

The Oracle from Omaha on a minimum tax for the wealthy--an idea whose time has come

From Sunday's New York Times:

A Minimum Tax for the Wealthy

By Warren E. Buffett

Omaha

SUPPOSE that an investor you admire and trust comes to you with an investment idea. “This is a good one,” he says enthusiastically. “I’m in it, and I think you should be, too.”

Would your reply possibly be this? “Well, it all depends on what my tax rate will be on the gain you’re saying we’re going to make. If the taxes are too high, I would rather leave the money in my savings account, earning a quarter of 1 percent.” Only in Grover Norquist’s imagination does such a response exist.

Between 1951 and 1954, when the capital gains rate was 25 percent and marginal rates on dividends reached 91 percent in extreme cases, I sold securities and did pretty well. In the years from 1956 to 1969, the top marginal rate fell modestly, but was still a lofty 70 percent — and the tax rate on capital gains inched up to 27.5 percent. I was managing funds for investors then. Never did anyone mention taxes as a reason to forgo an investment opportunity that I offered.

Under those burdensome rates, moreover, both employment and the gross domestic product (a measure of the nation’s economic output) increased at a rapid clip. The middle class and the rich alike gained ground.

So let’s forget about the rich and ultrarich going on strike and stuffing their ample funds under their mattresses if — gasp — capital gains rates and ordinary income rates are increased. The ultrarich, including me, will forever pursue investment opportunities.

And, wow, do we have plenty to invest. The Forbes 400, the wealthiest individuals in America, hit a new group record for wealth this year: $1.7 trillion. That’s more than five times the $300 billion total in 1992. In recent years, my gang has been leaving the middle class in the dust.

A huge tail wind from tax cuts has pushed us along. In 1992, the tax paid by the 400 highest incomes in the United States (a different universe from the Forbes list) averaged 26.4 percent of adjusted gross income. In 2009, the most recent year reported, the rate was 19.9 percent. It’s nice to have friends in high places.

The group’s average income in 2009 was $202 million — which works out to a “wage” of $97,000 per hour, based on a 40-hour workweek. (I’m assuming they’re paid during lunch hours.) Yet more than a quarter of these ultrawealthy paid less than 15 percent of their take in combined federal income and payroll taxes. Half of this crew paid less than 20 percent. And — brace yourself — a few actually paid nothing.

This outrage points to the necessity for more than a simple revision in upper-end tax rates, though that’s the place to start. I support President Obama’s proposal to eliminate the Bush tax cuts for high-income taxpayers. However, I prefer a cutoff point somewhat above $250,000 — maybe $500,000 or so.

Additionally, we need Congress, right now, to enact a minimum tax on high incomes. I would suggest 30 percent of taxable income between $1 million and $10 million, and 35 percent on amounts above that. A plain and simple rule like that will block the efforts of lobbyists, lawyers and contribution-hungry legislators to keep the ultrarich paying rates well below those incurred by people with income just a tiny fraction of ours. Only a minimum tax on very high incomes will prevent the stated tax rate from being eviscerated by these warriors for the wealthy.

Above all, we should not postpone these changes in the name of “reforming” the tax code. True, changes are badly needed. We need to get rid of arrangements like “carried interest” that enable income from labor to be magically converted into capital gains. And it’s sickening that a Cayman Islands mail drop can be central to tax maneuvering by wealthy individuals and corporations.

But the reform of such complexities should not promote delay in our correcting simple and expensive inequities. We can’t let those who want to protect the privileged get away with insisting that we do nothing until we can do everything.

Our government’s goal should be to bring in revenues of 18.5 percent of G.D.P. and spend about 21 percent of G.D.P. — levels that have been attained over extended periods in the past and can clearly be reached again. As the math makes clear, this won’t stem our budget deficits; in fact, it will continue them. But assuming even conservative projections about inflation and economic growth, this ratio of revenue to spending will keep America’s debt stable in relation to the country’s economic output.

In the last fiscal year, we were far away from this fiscal balance — bringing in 15.5 percent of G.D.P. in revenue and spending 22.4 percent. Correcting our course will require major concessions by both Republicans and Democrats.

All of America is waiting for Congress to offer a realistic and concrete plan for getting back to this fiscally sound path. Nothing less is acceptable.

In the meantime, maybe you’ll run into someone with a terrific investment idea, who won’t go forward with it because of the tax he would owe when it succeeds. Send him my way. Let me unburden him.

--Warren E. Buffett, Chairman and Chief Executive of Berkshire Hathaway.

And then, while we're at it, let's institute a minimum tax of, say, 10%, at least, for corporations so no matter what they write off legally, they can help pay for the roads and schools and all the infrastructure that help them make profits and keep growing here in America. It's the least they can do for access to the best markets in the world.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/26/opinion/buffett-a-minimum-tax-for-the-wealthy.html?_r=0&pagewanted=print

Quote of the day

"The rich are always going to say that, you know, just give us more money and we'll go out and spend more and then it will all trickle down to the rest of you. But that has not worked the last 10 years, and I hope the American public is catching on." -- Billionaire Warren Buffett

Maybe the American public will wise up one day?

End the Capital Gains Tax??

The wealthy in this country already pay--as we've come to find out ala' Mitt "Mittens" Romney and Warren Buffet--less in taxes than the middle- and lower-classes. They pay in the range of a 15% rate--if that--while the rest of us pay more like 35% As if that's not bad enough, people have been calling for the end of the Capital Gains Tax? What? So they can pay even less? In the first place, shouldn't they pay MORE, comparatively, especially if you go by the Bible and our supposed Judeo-Christian values but even if you don't? Second, kill the Capital Gains Tax? As though we aren't already deeply in debt enough as it is, since George W. "Knuclehead" Bush got us into two wars, didn't pay for either AND handed out a huge tax cut for the wealthy already? Could we now kill even the possibility of ending this Capital Gains Tax idea? Please?

The Top Ten Quotes of the Year

"Fred Shapiro, associate librarian at Yale Law School, has released his sixth annual list of the most notable quotations of the year:" 1. "We are the 99 percent." — slogan of Occupy movement. 2. "There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody. You built a factory out there — good for you! But I want to be clear. You moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for. You hired workers the rest of us paid to educate. You were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for." — U.S. Sen. candidate Elizabeth Warren, speaking in Andover, Mass., in August. 3. "My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress." — Billionaire Warren Buffett, in a New York Times op-ed on Aug. 15. 4. "I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy." — Presidential candidate Jon Huntsman in an Aug. 18 tweet. 5. "Oops." — Presidential candidate Rick Perry after unsuccessfully attempting to remember the third federal agency he would eliminate during a Nov. 9 debate. 6. "When they ask me, 'Who is the president of Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan?' I'm going to say, 'You know, I don't know. Do you know?'" — Then-presidential candidate Herman Cain in an interview by Christian Broadcasting Network on Oct. 7. 7. "I am on a drug. It's called 'Charlie Sheen.' It's not available because if you try it once, you will die. Your face will melt off and your children will weep over your exploded body." — Actor Charlie Sheen in a February interview with ABC News. 8. "Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow." — Apple co-founder Steve Jobs' last words on Oct. 5, as reported by his sister Mona Simpson in her eulogy. 9. "I can't say with certitude." — Then-U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner on June 1 when he was asked whether a lewd photograph was in fact him. 10. "Instead of receiving the help that she had hoped for, Mr. Cain instead decided to provide her with his idea of a stimulus package." — Lawyer Gloria Allred on Nov. 7 discussing Herman Cain's alleged sexual harassment of her client. Link: http://news.yahoo.com/99-percent-chosen-years-top-quote-171947746.html

Guest Post: Warren Buffet on the selfish, greedy rich of the US

From The New York Times today: Op-Ed Contributor, Stop Coddling the Super-Rich By WARREN E. BUFFETT, Published: August 14, 2011, Omaha; OUR leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.” But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched. 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. Read the entire column here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/opinion/stop-coddling-the-super-rich.html?_r=3

Best cities in America

Okay, another media ranking of cities and this time it's for "Best Cities in America", as you can see and, again, it's interesting.

Kansas City kind of got snubbed, I think, by my way of reckoning, since Omaha got position number 3 and we're not even on the list.  Check it out:

Omaha is a great example of a city that's avoided the booms and busts, ranking high on stability.

Could its slow but steady growth be the influence of one of its most famous residents, the richest man in the world, Warren Buffett? The Oracle of Omaha, as he's known, made his money based on the motto "invest in what you know" - not getting sucked into the next big boom.

Quite possibly, Sperling said. Perhaps the bigger impact, though, is that Buffett keeps Omaha in the news, which makes it easier to attract big companies there. Today, there are five Fortune 500 companies headquartered there, including ConAgra Foods, Union Pacific Corporation, Mutual of Omaha, Peter Kiewit and Sons, and Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.

Oh, and Des Moines is on the list too, at number 6.

Okay, so that's my points--we got overlooked on it, rightly or wrongly (probably likely, even though I enjoy the place) and Omaha and Des Moines beat us out

But I will make one last point here.

And that is, I think Kansas City is going to get on a cultural ranking "best of" list at least once--if not a few times next year, once our Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is open.

You watch.  The building itself, when it opens, is going to give us a great deal of attention in its own right.  Then, once open, more of these lists will have Kansas City on them.

See if I'm not right about this, next year.

Link to original post:  http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/best-cities-to-move-to-in-america.html

Quote of the day II--Billionaire for tax cuts

Warren Buffett proposed a further tax cut for the middle class, upper middle class and lower middle class -- essentially, everyone except the wealthy -- in an interview Tuesday with CNN Money's Poppy Harlow, at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington, DC

The billionaire investor, who, with a roughly $45 billion net worth, is the country's second richest person (behind Bill Gates), also said the government should raise taxes on the richest 2 percent of the country. That particular message was nothing new: He's been saying for years that the rich need to bear a greater share of the tax burden. Buffett reiterated Tuesday that he has the lowest tax rate of anybody in his Omaha office, even despite the fact that he doesn't have a tax shelter. But his tax cut proposal was new.
"I think maybe we should cut taxes for the middle class," he said. "Upper middle class [and] lower middle class."
Taxing the rich, he said, is the best way for the government to boost its income.

"The question is, Do we get more money from the person that's gonna serve me lunch today, or do we get it from me? I think we should get it from me," he said.

I couldn't agree more, Mr. Buffet.

Link to the original post:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/05/warren-buffett-tax-cuts_n_751503.html

Whither the economy?

It's always the question: "Where are we going next?" in this economy? Where will it take us. Today, there are two stories out and one gives hope, the other, a bit of caution. First, the hope: Buffett, Ballmer predict bright economic future; Buffett says no double-dip, Microsoft's Ballmer enthusiastic about future at Montana summit BUTTE, Mont. (AP) -- Some of the biggest names in business said Monday that they see a bright future for the economy, with famed investor Warren Buffett declaring the country and world will not fall back into the grips of the recession. "I am a huge bull on this country. We are not going to have a double-dip recession at all," said Buffett, chairman of Omaha, Neb.-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc. "I see our businesses coming back across the board." "This country works," Buffett said during a question-and-answer session via video at the Montana Economic Development Summit. "The best is yet to come." So that's all good and great to hear. Let's hope he's right. Now for the caution: Oil creeps higher to near $77 as equities rise; Oil creeps up to near $77 a barrel in Europe as global stock markets bolster optimism It's the very thought or feeling that things may, indeed, be improving, economically, that pushes the energy futures stocks higher, pushing the price per barrel of oil higher. And that higher price per barrel for oil could defuse any economic improvement made. Here's hoping for the best. Links to original stories: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Buffett-Ballmer-predict-apf-1647385255.html?x=0; http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Oil-creeps-higher-to-near-77-apf-2783288406.html?x=0

Quote of the day II--too important to wait for another day

In an exclusive interview with Yahoo! News and The Huffington Post, Warren Buffet credited his father for teaching him how to live, and explained that all parents can make a "better human being" by offering their children unconditional love: The power of unconditional love. I mean, there is no power on earth like unconditional love. And I think that if you offered that to your child, I mean you’re 90 percent of the way home. There may be days when you don’t feel like it, it’s not uncritical love, that’s a different animal, but to know you can always come back, that is huge in life. That takes you a long, long way. And I would say that every parent out there that can extend that to their child at an early age, it’s going to make for a better human being. Link to original post: http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20100708/bs_yblog_upshot/buffett-recounts-the-best-advice-hes-ever-received

Sobering thoughts to start the weekend

It just keeps gettnig better and better, doesn't it? (Read: worse and worse).

I had heard all the data and statistics already so I knew this stuff was out but still, it's pretty sobering, what the media reported today.

For one, there were "record" job cuts of 63,000 people from businesses last month. Yow. That hurt. (Frankly, I wish the media wouldn't even call it a "record job cut"--just say 63,000 people lost their jobs and don't put a headline on it. Not that it's the media's fault, don't misunderstand).

And two, Warren Buffett is now the top billionaire in the world, according to Forbe's Magazine.



No, I really am using that as levity. That is NOT the second-most important business article of the day. The information behind that headline is, though. Check this out:

In 2006, half of the top 20 billionaires in the world on Forbes Magazine's list were Americans.

Got that? Half. Fifty-percent.

Last year? One year later?


4


(Yes, that's f-o-u-r).


Another yow.

My reason is pointing this out is, yes, obvious on the face of it. Sure, fewer Americans are in the top 20 billionaires.

So what, right?

This isn't a "pity party", as my brother would say. And certainly not a sympathy gathering for the uber-wealthy.

My point is, the money is flowing OUT of the country and INTO others. Google "Dubai" if you haven't already. That's one of the biggest. Do a search for Exxon-Mobil's profits for the last 2 years. That's another. Check out China's growth for the last several years. You know where to look.

It ain't pretty, folks.

If it's hurting the uber-wealthy, it's gonna' really hurt those of us down here, eh?

And we've just started.

This is the top of the roller-coaster, I think, where you take that first, big, comforting deep breath. And then...





(I'd be happy to be--and hope I am--wrong).