Buffet's Common Sense

[RichardAWilson]

No, I'm not siding with a billionaire here. Yes, I am pleased to see one offering a dose of common sense.



In short, it (Trickle Down) ignores almost all the economic data we have. And it appears to be based on a rigid ideology, rather than common sense.

His solution would be to introduce two new tax rates on the fortune - one for those making over a million and one for those making over ten million. It would, in effect, affect around 237,000 taxpayers.


Back in the 1980s and 1990s, tax rates for the rich were far higher, and my percentage rate was in the middle of the pack.

According to a theory I sometimes hear, I should have thrown a fit and refused to invest because of the elevated tax rates.

I didn't refuse, nor did others.

[Dunk]

I see he takes breaks from stealing to bullshit the media. His suggested solution is too little, too late. His class won't go along with it. He's not scoring brownie points with this prole.

[Madslatter]

I think Buffet truly is a reform minded individual, and there is a lot of capitalist common sense in his plan. That said, the chance that his plan goes through is slim to none, and it isn't real change.

[RichardAWilson]

I too doubt it'll happen. The same will happen to this that happened to the Warren Buffet Trade Act - it was defeated in Congress. - Had it passed, it would have revived production and created millions of jobs in manufacturing by balancing our trade with China and Mexico.

While that wouldn't have changed the system, it would have made life better for working class individuals and families.

[Blackscare]

His class won't go along with it.

I don't see how you can say this with any amount of certainty. As a class, capitalists have always had to play a game of give and take. When the system itself is threatened, the capitalist class typically makes concessions because the survival of the system from which they benefit takes priority over any momentary costs. It's just as "natural" of a capitalist phenomenon as the "take", when they engage in union busting and the like in order to discipline labor and secure a better and more profitable position for themselves.


Obviously a tax hike here or there isn't really going to effect the quality of life of someone already at that level, so the capitalist class by and large may wager that a small redistribution of accumulated capital in the form of taxes is less onerous to them and their interests than the possible large-scale expropriation that becomes a threat to consider when periods of crises erupt.



People who claim that capitalists never make concessions and obstinately sit in their towers refusing to address reality, like so many deluded monarchs gallivanting in the final days of their rule, severely underestimate their shrewdness.

[RichardAWilson]

You're right about that it. Nonetheless, I like the whole thing about "it contradicts all of the economic data we have." Republican economics just doesn't work. Hell, it doesn't even make much sense. The Tea Party's economics makes even less sense.

[Dunk]

I don't see how you can say this with any amount of certainty. As a class, capitalists have always had to play a game of give and take. When the system itself is threatened, the capitalist class typically makes concessions because the survival of the system from which they benefit takes priority over any momentary costs. It's just as "natural" of a capitalist phenomenon as the "take", when they engage in union busting and the like in order to discipline labor and secure a better and more profitable position for themselves.


Obviously a tax hike here or there isn't really going to effect the quality of life of someone already at that level, so the capitalist class by and large may wager that a small redistribution of accumulated capital in the form of taxes is less onerous to them and their interests than the possible large-scale expropriation that becomes a threat to consider when periods of crises erupt.



People who claim that capitalists never make concessions and obstinately sit in their towers refusing to address reality, like so many deluded monarchs gallivanting in the final days of their rule, severely underestimate their shrewdness.

Blah, blah, blah. OK, how about this? Until a movement forces concessions to be made, his class won't go along with it. And fuck concessions. Expropriate Warren Buffet and the rest of them.

[Madslatter]

Until a movement forces concessions to be made, his class won't go along with it.
True, but we don't know if that movement is going to be return of new deal keynesianism, or if it will be more leftist.

[Blackscare]

Blah, blah, blah. OK, how about this? Until a movement forces concessions to be made, his class won't go along with it. And fuck concessions. Expropriate Warren Buffet and the rest of them.

Did I say anything about concessions being a goal we should pursue? I believe I was talking about potential conclusions the capitalist class may come to in the near future. Nice straw man though.


Also, no, the rich could go along with concessions in the form of taxes to save the government (and thus US treasury bonds and the economy as a whole) from collapsing in a speculative spiral. Concessions don't always have to be in the form of higher wages or social programs, and they don't have to be forced by a literal mass of proletarians knocking down the gate. This isn't the early 20th century. Given the highly speculative finance-based economy we have in the US today, it's entirely likely that financial considerations could serve as sufficient impetus to get the capitalist class to concede some revenue to the government in order to keep what is still the most fertile environment for the management of capital afloat. Wait untik the crisis becomes more acute and we'll see what happens, if revenue is needed to prevent the whole house of cards from collapsing I have a feeling that it will be gathered together (I'm not saying that it's a certainty, because I don't bother trying to talk in absolutes just to sound decisive or more knowledgeable than I am).


Anyway, you can be a child and continue to make sweeping statements and talk in absolutes, as well as type "blah blah blah" when people correct you, or you can engage in discussion like an adult. Your choice, I don't really see why you're getting so aggressive and petty about it.

[RichardAWilson]

Once again, I agree with you. Look at JP Morgan and others - which supported the creation of the Federal Reserve and the introduction of the (modern) income tax after the financial crisis of 1907.

[Dunk]

Sigh, you're right. I'm feeling especially frustrated tonight. Sorry.

[Blackscare]

Sigh, you're right. I'm feeling especially frustrated tonight. Sorry.

It's all good homie, I'm feeling especially wrathful for no good reason. :lol:

[La Comédie Noire]

Is the capitalist class even in a position to make concessions anymore? Bottom line, they need to maintain profit margins. Can they afford a welfare state in the first world nations while still making a comfortable profit? I don't know.

[piet11111]

Just because 1 capitalist can afford concessions this does not mean that others can and then you have the short sighted ones that just want more.

[Catma]

NEW YORK/CHARLOTTE (Reuters) - Warren Buffett will invest $5 billion in Bank of America, stepping in to shore up the largest bank in the United States in the same way he helped prop up Goldman Sachs and General Electric during the financial crisis.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Warren-Buffett-to-invest-5-rb-4173223408.html

Reform minded? Whatever... he knows his suggestions won't be carried out. He's totally down with propping up the system as-is.

[RichardAWilson]

Well, he is in the business of making money. Bank of America is undervalued, allowing him to turn an above average return. He's not "propping up the system." He's making a money making decision. If you're scroll down, I said a little over a week ago that financials were undervalued. His business decision doesn't make him anti-reform minded.

[RichardAWilson]

http://www.revleft.com/vb/stocks-just-idea-t159361/index.html



Oh, it will. It'll just take a long time. However, since this month's freefall, financials will move higher because they're just that undervalued.