Warren Buffett is an Idiot from Planck's Constant

THAIPUSAM FESTIVAL IN PENANG
Photo by: Claude BARUTEL

Liberals love to quote Warren Buffett when he told Congress that billionaires should pay more in taxes.

ABCNews, 15 Nov 2007, The Rich Need to Pay More Taxes
he recently compared how much he pays in taxes in terms of a percentage of his salary to what his employees pay.

The results? Buffett says he pays 18 percent of his salary to the IRS while the rest of his staff pays nearly twice that — 33 percent, a lopsided equation that put Buffett in a Robin Hood frame of mind.

"Frankly, an economy where my receptionist pays a lot higher tax rate than, than I do does not strike me as a just economy," he told lawmakers.

Warren Buffett is an idiot. 99% of his income is in the form of dividends which are currently taxed at 15% (Obama wants that rate to go up to 20%). In order for him and the super rich to pay more in total taxes the capital gains rate would have to go to 33% or more. But doesn't that idiot know that raising taxes on dividends has always resulted in lower tax revenues for the IRS? The millions of people who receive smaller dividends have less money to invest in other businesses and those businesses have less money to invest in goods, research and development, employees, etc. Hasn't Buffett already paid capital gains taxes on his previous years' dividends which he has re-invested in other businesses which dividends now are subject to taxes again? If we taxed Buffett as much as he suggests then he would have had dramatically less investment income with which to have accumulated such a large income which is being taxed now. Do I have to teach Economics 101 to this imbecile?

Buffett wants a "just" economy, unfortunately a just economy like those in the former Soviet Union do not end up being just. The poor and middle classes suffer even more. Increasing the earned income tax rate to 99% for those making $10 million or more (Buffett makes about $50 million a year) wouldn't change his actual total tax rate by even one percent, so that doesn't help even out the playing field but only discourages millionaires who are not senile idiots from investing in this country.

Buffett is 15 years older than me and if not for his senility would have remembered, as I do, the British Brain Drain in the 1950s and 60s when highly skilled doctors, scientists and technologists left the UK because of oppressive income taxes. It is not just revenues the government loses with higher taxes it is the highest skilled workers as well.

Because I am in a technology business I have a constant need for highly skilled computer programmers which I fulfill with the H-1B visa program which allows U.S. businessmen like myself to employ foreign guest workers in specialty occupations. Fortunately, there are more than enough countries with oppressive taxes and limited economic opportunities to supply me with an unlimited number of highly skilled workers. These are the kind of workers employers have to pay $150,000 a year or more plus stock options which would be exactly the group that Buffett wants to tax more. Tax them enough and they'll go somewhere else because anyplace else would be glad to have them. Thanks a lot moron!

In fact, he's not only an idiot but a hypocrite by donating $31 billion of his fortune to fund the Gates Foundation. Does he think that a private organization will help fight infectious diseases and reform education better than the government? Obviously he does, otherwise the check would have been made out to Uncle Sam. I suppose Buffett

Carpe Diem, Warren Buffett Can Pay Higher Taxes Right Now
Dear Mr. Buffett:

If you think that you should pay more in taxes, you don't need to wait for Congress to change the tax laws, and you don't have to wait for the repeal of the Bush tax cuts. You can voluntarily pay more taxes right now, today by making a gift to the United States Government. Simply write a check or money order payable to the "United States Treasury," and mail to the address below.

Gifts to the United States
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Credit Accounting Branch
3700 East-West Highway, Room 6D17
Hyattsville, MD 20782

If you are wondering the relevance of the photo above to this article, I'd like to point out that there are people in this world who enjoy nothing more than a nice afternoon of self-puncturing pain and mutilation. There is nothing wrong with it as long as they keep it to themselves. But it would be wrong if those people suggested that the government should do to all others what they like having done to themselves. Mind your own friggin business, Warren.