I am pleasantly surprised to see one of the top earners in the US take on an unpopular topic for the rich and powerful – tax rates for the wealthy. Warren Buffet claims that he pays 17.7 percent in payroll taxes on income of $66 million, while his receptionist pays 30 percent on $60 thousand.
When asked why there is this disparity, he responded: “…all the rich in one way or another - have lobbyists, you know, coming out of their ears. And are down there whenever something threatens their favored status, they are in Washington en mass. And who is there representing the person that pays the payroll tax? I don't know of any group that is going around saying, ‘It's too tough for these people who - barely eke out a living to be paying 15 percent on payroll taxes.’”
That is a simple enough explanation. If our political system is driven by big business, the politicians will look out for the interests of big business. At some point the wealthy minority hijacked the U.S. government, or maybe it was always set up to protect them solely. One could certainly argue that.
One thing is for sure – the tax system in the U.S. needs to be fixed.
For more on this read this article in the Times or this CNBC interview.
When asked why there is this disparity, he responded: “…all the rich in one way or another - have lobbyists, you know, coming out of their ears. And are down there whenever something threatens their favored status, they are in Washington en mass. And who is there representing the person that pays the payroll tax? I don't know of any group that is going around saying, ‘It's too tough for these people who - barely eke out a living to be paying 15 percent on payroll taxes.’”
That is a simple enough explanation. If our political system is driven by big business, the politicians will look out for the interests of big business. At some point the wealthy minority hijacked the U.S. government, or maybe it was always set up to protect them solely. One could certainly argue that.
One thing is for sure – the tax system in the U.S. needs to be fixed.
For more on this read this article in the Times or this CNBC interview.
