I watched Warren Buffet on Charlie Rose. Amazing interview. Here’s Warren’s New York Times op ed about how the rich should pay more in taxes.
This has nothing to do directly with criminal law – other than when the economy turns around people will have more money to hire criminal lawyers. I am fascinated and inspired by successful people in all walks of life. Charlie Rose is an amazing interviewer and has extraordinary people on his show. Warren seems like a funny, cool, happy populist who happens to be wealthy – and is going to give away the vast majority of his wealth. Here are some of my notes from the interview:
Top 400 earners since 1982 quintupled earnings
Rich pay low taxes on dividends and capital gains – 15% and no payroll tax
Feds get about 800B on payroll 900B income taxes, payroll almost same amount as total income taxes
If you are taxed up to 100K on payroll taxes – 15,300 – that percentage alone is over the capital gains rate
Warren paid 17.4%
If you make money with money, low tax rates – 15%
If you make money with the sweat of your brow, you pay higher taxes
15% or 25% – most middle Americans pay on income tax plus payroll tax 15%
80 million actual tax payers, highest rates on middle class and upper middle class
67% of Americans own their own homes, at top of market, homes were worth about 22 trillion. Economy won’t come back until we’ve worked off excess inventory. Making progress. Producing less houses than households. Unemployment will fall significantly when housing starts are at 1 million. Recovered on corporate profits. Amount of excess inventory not as high as people think. We will be at 7% or below unemployment when housing starts are at 1 million. Huge correction of bubble that popped. If you have excess inventory, e.g.– purple dresses – mark em down to whatever it takes to sell them. Japan has declining population. Not so in America. New families/households forming all the time.
15 recessions since country was formed. In 1779, chinese population 290m, america 4m, and Europe 50m.
We export as % of GDP doubled in last 4 years. We want other countries to do well. We will sell stuff to them.
19% of revenues in taxes, can spend 21%, can have deficit over time b/c country will grow. Can’t let debt increase as % though.
We have the biggest stimulus program the world has ever seen. Deficit is our stimulus. Have to worry about the government printing more money. Devaluing the dollar. 10% of GDP is huge stimulus -that’s the deficit.
Not see likelihood of double-dip recession. However, what makes it more likely are two things – 1. if people lose faith in government that they can’t govern and 2. how europe affects us. Got to have confidence in our leaders.
This is a world of incentives. Education business, re-election for politicians.
Simpson Boles put the country ahead of personal feelings. Got tossed aside. Should have gained momentum. Colburn and Durbin even signed on.
Last 25 years, Forbes 400 – couple hundred billion in wealth to a trillion 2. Income of top americans quintupled in last 25 years. Becoming a nation of super-haves and have nots.
He is wired so he can figure out what things are worth.
2010 tax return, 62 m AGI, can only deduct 30% of contributions, taxable income 39.8M, tax 6.9M or about 17%, while people in his office pay between 33-41%, avg 36%.
he gets 32,680 in social security $. Would make it a means test. 60m people live in households 21K/year or less.
Born lucky, born in America, 30 to 1 against. Rich society should think about poor people everyday. Financial systems – Keep limits on leverage and have proper incentives for people at top. Have to have big downside to people who run banks.
Too big to fail will always exist. No downside to bank execs.
Lessons of berkshire hathaway
bus growing, investing 7b in capital investment, in difficult times, best time for him b/c more opportunities to buy quality things at low prices
He likes buying on sale. Last monday he spent more money in stock market than any day this year.
Offer transatlantic ins co – offer expired. Likes bus – own 100%
employs 260,000 people.
Sorry for the abbreviated version, but you get the idea.