Given the vast wealth and subsequent power of his voice it should come as no surprise that a couple of posts have already been made here about Warren Buffett's recent editorial regarding taxes on the rich.
Unfortunately Nolan Finley completely misses the point in his article. Nolan has taken the stance that because Mr. Buffett feels that he, and more importantly those like him, "should" pay more taxes means that he "wants" to pay more taxes. Mr. Buffett is pointing out that thanks to tax loopholes (mainly capital gains tax rules) he and others like him actually pay a very low percentage compared to the rest of us.
Mr. Buffett thinks this is unfair and would like to see it corrected. Could Mr. Buffett voluntarily pay more taxes? Sure. But that is not the point. Our system is set up to benefit the super rich and legislators continue to legislate under the myths of wealth and taxes that Mr. Buffett debunks in his article.
Boiling Warren Buffett's editorial down to an oversimplified view of he "wants" to pay more taxes does the piece a disservice, since that takes it from a rational discussion of the current issues with our tax system to an ideological talking point.
Tax issues such as the ones Mr. Buffett addresses are in no small way part of the debt ceiling debate that we just endured as well as the larger ongoing national debt concern. Trivializing the views of a respected businessman simply because they don't fit your narrative is not how we reach consensus on solutions to our economic issues.
By the way, Warren Buffett is not the only super rich American to suggest that the rich should pay more taxes. So do Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Ted Turner, Tom Steyer, Morris Pearl, Mark Cuban, Michael Steinhardt, Doug Liman, Garrett Gruener, and over 100 other millionaires.
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