Even the front page of the Royal NZ Herald’s Business section went gaga this morning over Warren Buffett. Why? Because the billionaire is calling for bigger taxes on billionaires like him and Bill Gates. Tim Carney reminds us however:
As most of the media goes gaga over Billionaire Obama fundraiser Warren Buffett calling for tax hikes, (like he did in 2001, and 2004, and plenty of times in between), let’s remember a few things.
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.
Buffett can give great advice on how to make money. His advice on how to steal it should be put where the sun doesn’t shine.
[Hat tip Economic Policy Journal]
2 comments:
The Statists have won I'm afraid. It's disheartening how too many of these successful men and women have so little philosophical underpinning, they have no conscious idea of the nature of how they achieved their success, and because of this, sucking up to the altar of 'cool' altruism, end up advocating insanely the slavery of all of us to the State, while they blithely go on doing what makes them successful, oblivious it's the opposite to what they preach. The narrow drive to success of the entrepreneur their greatest strength, turned into my jail.
Example? Sam Morgan. After selling Trade Me for a terrific price - good on him! - then whinging to the media what a pity he didn't have to pay tax on it.
Well, Sam; just multiply the gain on sale by 33% and send a cheque to the government to put your actions where you mouth is. Nothing stopping you. Or if you think government is such a great thing, send it the entire gain, and you graft away trying to do it all over again.
Won't do it, will he. Because he's not that stupid. Just like Buffet won't. I follow Morgan on Twitter, tweeting about all his new business ventures, none of which could have happened, or at least not to as greater scale, if he had given one third of that profit to the State.
So figure it out Sam. And your old man, who since he has started motor cycling through the back of beyond in Africa, seems to have taken it upon himself to believe we are all stupid and need Nanny State to take our freedoms and foster us all in ways the State sees fit. Because the State now seems to figure prominently in the solution he has to every perceived social ill.
I'm over all of it. F*$^&#* idiots. To all businessmen and women: try reading books, especially philosophy. And look at the world around you, starting with the riots in England.
Buffett isnt gaga he has just hooked up with people who can levy the US economy and then send significant money his way. Lemon Squeezy.
Sammy was just sounding off he is harmless it is the lobbyist scum in NZ which are a big hidden problem.
People running the so called financial services sector got kiwi saver introduced and even got people's minister Cullen fronting it. Clever eh. They then got that utter clown Dunne to fuck the tax code for their benefit as well. Cronie Capitalism apparently it is quite a business model.
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