Stop Coddling The Super-Rich ?

If you haven't already you should definitely read N.Y. Times article by Warren Buffett, "Stop Coddling the Super-Rich." It's truly a great opinion piece by Warren Buffet. He shared his views about our deficit and the tax burden.  It's truly mind boggling that a billionaire has only a 17.4% taxes to pay on his taxable income, in comparison to every-day folks hitting 30% and up. It's crazy and it's no way Congress should see this as not a problem. I'm not going to even talk politics to you today. To me it's all about common sense.  You putting all the burden on the people who are your working class and can't afford, but wonder why our deficit is growing. People are losing faith and something needs to be done. Here are a few highlights from the article:

These and other blessings are showered upon us by legislators in Washington who feel compelled to protect us, much as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species. It’s nice to have friends in high places. 

Last year my federal tax bill — the income tax I paid, as well as payroll taxes paid by me and on my behalf — was $6,938,744. That sounds like a lot of money. But what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income — and that’s actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office. Their tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent. 

Twelve members of Congress will soon take on the crucial job of rearranging our country’s finances. They’ve been instructed to devise a plan that reduces the 10-year deficit by at least $1.5 trillion. It’s vital, however, that they achieve far more than that. Americans are rapidly losing faith in the ability of Congress to deal with our country’s fiscal problems. Only action that is immediate, real and very substantial will prevent that doubt from morphing into hopelessness. That feeling can create its own reality.

While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks. Some of us are investment managers who earn billions from our daily labors but are allowed to classify our income as “carried interest,” thereby getting a bargain 15 percent tax rate. Others own stock index futures for 10 minutes and have 60 percent of their gain taxed at 15 percent, as if they’d been long-term investors.

What's Your thoughts?