Rich people in america have too much money, says the world’s second-richest man

[Kathandira]

300k here would get you 3,000 sqft or more if you lived a bit further out

I've been keeping an eye on how my companies WFH policy works. I know some places will reduce your pay if you move to an area with a lower cost of living. So far, I have been hearing that my salary would remain the same, even if I worked in another state remotely.

I am seriously considering this. I want to buy a house, but in NJ, to have a down payment to get a loan, I would need to drop about 30k at the bare minimum. That is way too much for me = (

[Independent voter]

He said we should restore the estate tax, the tax that is placed on the stuff that you own when you die. Republicans have been weakening the estate tax over the years.



This is the interview he did yesterday. The Newshour is the best news show in the US btw, Buffet went on the news show because he knows all the rich and powerful watch it.

[Kathandira]

He said we should restore the estate tax, the tax that is placed on the stuff that you own when you die. Republicans have been weakening the estate tax over the years.



This is the interview he did yesterday. The Newshour is the best news show in the US btw, Buffet went on the news show because he knows all the rich and powerful watch it.

NJ was talking about (and may have actually gone through with) lower the estate tax. It was touted as Tax relief for NJ residents. But anyone who knows better, knows that this is just tax cuts to the rich.

[Krigaren]

I don't really care how much money rich people have, it's not stopping me from making more money, the only thing doing that is myself. But I'm content with where I am in life.

Yeah, except imagine for a moment that ever since "trickle down", your wages have stagnated and that you should be making considerably more money than you are right now. Wouldn't you prefer having double or even triple your current salary?

But hey, don't take my word for it. It's not like $1 in 2017 is only worth $0.16 compared to the dollar in 1970. Or, put another way, a $40,000 salary today would have had the buying power of $256,000 in 1970.

But hey, you know, lets keep letting the rich make more money while the rest of the economy falls apart. As long as you're comfortable and happy with your meager scraps, that's all that's important!

[Ghostpanther]

It is your business when the rich aren't taxed enough, and your taxes keep raising. The rich stay rich, and poor get poorer.

My point was not about their tax rates, but how much they give to charity which is what I said in, " The point is, none of my business how much or whom they give it to. " Helps to read what I posted first. :P

[melodramocracy]

Dual income of 100k is ok in most places outside of metro areas, nothing exceptional. As I said in the minimum wage jokefest thread though, yes, payscales are ridiculous, and absolutely impact CoL in such a way that bringing up the low end of the pay scale is really the easier solution.

[Queen of Hamsters]

No shit.

Doesn't mean anything will change, the rich will keep on growing their wealth and the poor will keep on being poor. When the middle class is eradicated and we can't consume goods, the rich will profit from humans needing water, air and heat instead.

Because damn, having 10 billion USD is nowhere NEAR enough! Need at least double that sitting in a bank!!

[Pony Soldier]

Thankfully America has Donald Trump and the Republicans in control now, so all those issues will be resolved shortly.

*eventually, maybe*. As long as it doesn't get in the way of his golfing and vacation trips. A lot of the worlds money is being spent to support his already many vacations. Hasn't even been in office for a year and already spent more than Obama.

To think of how many of the worlds problems could have been solved, all the people it could have helped but instead was used so our fat ass moron of a president could go have fun in the sun. It's disgusting.

[Flarelaine]

Well, he could so he would feel better, not take all those tax breaks? Kind of hypocritical to condemn the system when he also takes advantage of it.

If he paid 19%, he probably did not take breaks. He has been complaining how easy it is for rich men in America to pay practically nothing due to loopholes and breaks.

[Djuntas]

Time to pay your taxes America, but oh you won't...So enjoy having your country in shambles.

[Vash The Stampede]

Well he can send me some of his money then or shut up.

So you're in favor of UBI? Great, lets vote on it.

[melodramocracy]

I don't really care how much money rich people have, it's not stopping me from making more money, the only thing doing that is myself. But I'm content with where I am in life.

I'd actually argue that on some level, it does stop you. Wealth, when discussed in terms of sheer monetary units, is more of a zero sum game than people like to think.

Granted, your own personal decisions about the money you currently make are of the utmost importance.

[Deleted]

He should buy food, lots of it then fly over to Africa and transport it in the fastest pace directly to those who need it. Every single day and personally.

These charities are troublesome, often in transparent and even though Buffet alone could feed the world for a few days - nothing ever changes. If he cares, he should abandon his current life and try to use his hands directly.

[Ivanstone]

If he paid 19%, he probably did not take breaks. He has been complaining how easy it is for rich men in America to pay practically nothing due to loopholes and breaks.

He did take a tax break. He probably paid capital gains tax instead of income tax which is the biggest tax break of all. I seem to recall reading somewhere his annual income is only 100K and the wealth all comes from capital gains.

I would be truly impressed if any of the rich would voluntarily pay the income tax rate rather than the capital rate.

[Orlong]

Warren Buffet is second, Bill Gates is first and both seem like nice people who give a lot of their money away to charity. My guess is they are both Democrats which is interesting to me.

I think what happened is that as wealth increased so dramatically from 1960 to present, new wealth, it wasn't shared equally among everyone, and that rich people got most of the new wealth leaving poor people behind.

And not all poor people were left behind, there are plenty of dual income households making over $100K a year now. But that's with two people working.





http://www.newsweek.com/rich-people-...buffett-629456



One big problem in America is that while there is plenty of money, rich people have too much of it. So says the world’s second-richest man, Warren Buffett. The 86-year-old CEO of investing house Berkshire Hathaway has a net worth of $75.6 billion, according to Forbes, and he says massive sums like that are the reason why many people are struggling to get by.



“The real problem, in my view, is the prosperity has been unbelievable for the extremely rich people,” he told PBS Newshour Monday.



“If you go to 1982, when Forbes put on their first 400 list, those people had $93 billion. Now they have $2.4 trillion, [a multiple of] 25 for one. This has been a prosperity that’s been disproportionately rewarding to the people on top.”

Since the 1980s, the richest 1 percent of Americans have seen their share of total income roughly double, to 20 percent. Meanwhile, the bottom 50 percent have seen their share decline in a big way, to 12 percent from 20 percent. Inequality in America is now even more pronounced than in China.

“The economy is doing well, but all Americans aren’t doing well,” Buffett added. “But we have got $57,000 or $58,000 of [gross domestic product] per person. That is a lot of stuff.”

Buffett said that the inequality is a natural result of an evolving economy in the U.S., but that more needs to be done in order to help those who have seen their jobs go by the wayside.

“We actually export 12 or 13 percent of our GDP,” he said. “It was only 5 percent in 1970. But it benefits us. It benefits the rest of the world. It doesn’t benefit the steelworker maybe in Ohio. And that’s the problem that has to be addressed because when you have something that’s good for society, but terribly harmful for given individuals, we have got to make sure those individuals are taken care of.”

Buffett pointed out that the economy has been growing since 2009, following the recession the previous year. Since entering the White House in January, and even before, President Trump has been quick to claim credit for any sign of further improvement in the economy.


Buffett, though, urged Trump to be careful what he claimed responsibility for.

“If I ever get elected president, I will never claim credit for anything the market does, because I don’t want to be blamed when it goes the other direction,” he said.

Why doesnt he just give every minimum wage earner $100k dollars if he thinks he has too much money. That comes to about 70 billion dollars. He would still have $15 billion to give away. He isnt likely to even live more than 5 years yet.

Stop telling everyone else what to do with their money and put your money where your mouth is. Why are you still earning even more money if you already have too much Mister Buffet???? Why arent you just living in a 3 room retirement cottage in the Villages in Florida like every other old person.

Im sick of you always running your mouth about how rich people dont pay enough taxes, and how rich people have too much money, yet youre the second richest man in the world and continue to work and make investments to make even more money, and you continue to file your taxes using as many loopholes as you can so you pay the lowest percentage possible.

If you feel you arent paying enough taxes, you can write a check directly to the US treasury for as much as you think you should be paying. Shut your damn mouth or give away all of your money and live like a pauper

[LMuhlen]

Or, put another way, a $40,000 salary today would have had the buying power of $256,000 in 1970.

Did you mean the opposite? A salary of $40,000 in 1970 would have had a buying power of $256,000 today?

[Skalm]

He did take a tax break. He probably paid capital gains tax instead of income tax which is the biggest tax break of all. I seem to recall reading somewhere his annual income is only 100K and the wealth all comes from capital gains.

I would be truly impressed if any of the rich would voluntarily pay the income tax rate rather than the capital rate.

So true...any while Buffet's donations are to good causes, he is not making them only out of the goodness of his heart. By donating money, he reduces his taxable income, which lets him pay even less on taxes.

The 100k income crap is what all rich people do. It is a way to scam the tax system. They get 100k on paper for their job, but they get tons of other compensation that doesn't count as income, so it doesn't get taxed the same.

[Flarelaine]

So true...any while Buffet's donations are to good causes, he is not making them only out of the goodness of his heart. By donating money, he reduces his taxable income, which lets him pay even less on taxes.

There is a limit on deductible charities and he donates way, way more than that.

[Orlong]

I'm listening to Buffet's interview on the PBS Newshour show. He said he pays 19% last year in taxes. His cleaning lady paid 15%.

But that cleaning lady only paid about $5k in taxes and he paid like $50 million. She still got the good end of the deal. If he feels she is getting shafted so bad, perhaps he should pay her $1 million per year to clean his house instead of less than $25k per year

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Can people trying to shit on Buffet actually take 2 second to google. Guy probably gives away the most money to charity any single individual gave to date. And is advocating higher taxes rates, for himself and everyone else as rich as him. Just do what he says and youll get even more of his money back. Not gona happen when you have little orange baby hands as your president tho. You voted for someone that want to see you as poor as possible, deal with it.

He isnt giving enough to charity if he still has $85 billion and still thinks he has too much money. He is also writing all those charitable donations off on his taxes. Its all a stage show so he can trick people into thinking hes a great guy

[LMuhlen]

No, I didn't mean the opposite. If you made $40,000 in 1970, it would have been the equivalent in buying power to making $256,000 today.

Put another way, someone making $40,000 a year today in 2017, would be making the buying power equivalent of $6,246.07 in 1970.

That sounds right, but in your other post you said the opposite. You said making $40,000 today.