04 December 2006
Reader comment: On Buffett, taxes, and more
Last week, I wrote this post, regarding this article, which dealt with Warren Buffett's self-imposed tax policy of paying what he owes the IRS and not using any tax planning. Buffett surveyed his employees and found he was paying a far smaller percentage of his overall income in taxes than they were in theirs, a fact by which he is troubled greatly.
One reader responded:
"Cicero:
this post is authored by one who may be among the oldest of your readers, and you can tell by this note. I have seen references by you not only to Buffett, but also to the huge and growing wealth gap between Americans. Recently, someone wrote an article on that growing gap and cited Buffett's charitable contributions as evidence of the "problem". The author was concerned that someone like Buffett could accumulate so much wealth while others go homeless, and did not seem to give Buffett any credit for his altruism.
Your post on his thoughts on taxes supports that he thinks like a real good citizen, concerned for the welfare of many.
I do not have much of a point, but want to mention a few personal thoughts. I have been extremely fortunate in life , with a great family and good health. I have been extremely lucky in a career that has paid me much more than I am worth in a great society, and am a living example that "life is not fair",perhaps balancing out your friend who was a near volunteer in TFA. I make a lot of money, more than i can spend and much more than I need. I give some to charities and a lot to the US Treasury, paying over 40% of my total income( not only taxable, but all of my income because I pay in several states). And the net paid in a single year is a big number, probably more than my father earned in his lifetime.
I am ok with that ...because my generation is eating up much of the future, not only environmentally, but in social security, tax breaks for the rich, white elephants for many congressman, and unaffordable defined benefit plans to many civil employees. Your generation will rarely or never see true pension plans, and social security will not be what we think it is today. You can hardly afford housing and many of you carry debt from college( which I and almost all of my friends did not) , but we have trained you to be good consumers and you have generated huge debt by buying perishable goods, most of which have already perished.
If it makes your readers feel any better, I will tell them I have concern and some guilt about what we are leaving your generation. of course I forgot to mention that I never served my country, as I had a student deferment because my parents saved for me to go to college while my disadvantaged contempararies served, died or were wounded in Viet Nam.
So I will continue to look for good causes to which I can contribute, write big checks to the Treasury . If you and your readers have any good ideas, such as how I and my other overpaid exec friends can donate my future social security checks to those men and women who have had parts of their lives ripped away by the on going atrocities in the Middle east, please let me know."
Thanks for the comment.
One reader responded:
"Cicero:
this post is authored by one who may be among the oldest of your readers, and you can tell by this note. I have seen references by you not only to Buffett, but also to the huge and growing wealth gap between Americans. Recently, someone wrote an article on that growing gap and cited Buffett's charitable contributions as evidence of the "problem". The author was concerned that someone like Buffett could accumulate so much wealth while others go homeless, and did not seem to give Buffett any credit for his altruism.
Your post on his thoughts on taxes supports that he thinks like a real good citizen, concerned for the welfare of many.
I do not have much of a point, but want to mention a few personal thoughts. I have been extremely fortunate in life , with a great family and good health. I have been extremely lucky in a career that has paid me much more than I am worth in a great society, and am a living example that "life is not fair",perhaps balancing out your friend who was a near volunteer in TFA. I make a lot of money, more than i can spend and much more than I need. I give some to charities and a lot to the US Treasury, paying over 40% of my total income( not only taxable, but all of my income because I pay in several states). And the net paid in a single year is a big number, probably more than my father earned in his lifetime.
I am ok with that ...because my generation is eating up much of the future, not only environmentally, but in social security, tax breaks for the rich, white elephants for many congressman, and unaffordable defined benefit plans to many civil employees. Your generation will rarely or never see true pension plans, and social security will not be what we think it is today. You can hardly afford housing and many of you carry debt from college( which I and almost all of my friends did not) , but we have trained you to be good consumers and you have generated huge debt by buying perishable goods, most of which have already perished.
If it makes your readers feel any better, I will tell them I have concern and some guilt about what we are leaving your generation. of course I forgot to mention that I never served my country, as I had a student deferment because my parents saved for me to go to college while my disadvantaged contempararies served, died or were wounded in Viet Nam.
So I will continue to look for good causes to which I can contribute, write big checks to the Treasury . If you and your readers have any good ideas, such as how I and my other overpaid exec friends can donate my future social security checks to those men and women who have had parts of their lives ripped away by the on going atrocities in the Middle east, please let me know."
Thanks for the comment.
Labels: politics
¶ 8:16 AM
