PrintNovember 25, 2010
Big Business Buffett Wants Small Businesses to Pay More
Warren Buffett is at it again, playing Billionaire Knows Best with ludicrous statements which fly in the face of capitalist reality. Discussing the Bush tax-rates with Christiane Amanpour of ABC, the "Oracle of Omaha" asserted his belief that "the rich" don't pay enough:
"If anything, taxes for the lower and middle class, and maybe even the upper-middle class, should even be cut further. But I think that people at the high end -- like myself -- should be paying higher taxes. The rich are always going to say that, you know, just give us more money and we'll go out and spend, and it will trickle down. But that hasn't worked in the past ten years, and I hope that the American public is catching on."
I'm catching on: this crony capitalist doesn't care for small business. Buffett, who believes the current rates on upper-earners should expire, makes no distinction between people who make a quarter-million before lunch and businesses who make this amount in one year. These businesses file individual returns, and no, the government doesn't "give" them money, it forces it from their hands. To hear a man whose net worth is $47,000 million advocate for higher taxes on those making $250,000 ($200,000 for single filers) is a little like hearing a priest stump for atheism.
Not to worry: Buffet's $3 B investment in General Electric will be safe. As for the rest of us, we don't get corporate welfare. If Buffett has his way, small business will suffer, while those he invests in will thrive on its back.
Greg Halvorson is the founder of Soldiers Without Boots and hosts Freedom Warrior Radio on Blog Talk Radio.
