Video: Warren Buffett knocks Obama over windfall profits tax on oil
posted at 5:37 pm on June 25, 2008 by Allahpundit
Send to a Friend |
Share on Facebook | printer-friendly
Liberal, Obama supporter, capitalist. To paraphrase the Messiah’s own famous line about war, Buffett’s not against all taxes, he’s just against dumb taxes, like ones leveled according to some arbitrary definition of what constitutes a “windfall.” Consider this Obama’s answer to McCain’s gas tax holiday: Foolish economically, but too politically appealing to pass up. At last check, the Straight Talk Express had taken a welcome detour from this position. I wonder if gas prices creep much higher this summer whether he won’t detour back.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
In vino veritas!
I wouldn’t go that far. He is for the death tax, big time.
Buy Danish on June 25, 2008 at 5:42 PM
Has he given back to the Feds the money from his obscene tax cuts yet?
ThePrez on June 25, 2008 at 5:42 PM
Start calling it the No Profits Tax.
- The Cat
MirCat on June 25, 2008 at 5:43 PM
That’s good to hear.
DaveS on June 25, 2008 at 5:43 PM
Warren Buffett rocks. He is an American treasure whether you agree with him or not. I wish I could be his buddy just to hear what he thinks.
ThackerAgency on June 25, 2008 at 5:45 PM
More interesting stuff about Buffet here, including his valuable investment tips for individual investors.
thirteen28 on June 25, 2008 at 5:47 PM
Or “No Profits For You!”
- The Cat
P.S. Man, youtube has a lot of pro Nazi videos.
MirCat on June 25, 2008 at 5:48 PM
I just love his work, “Cheeseburger in Paradise” and “Margaritaville.” He truly is a national treasure. )
ThePrez on June 25, 2008 at 5:49 PM
I am a big fan of Bufffett’s investment strategy but remember that he is going to do and say what is in his best interest. The death tax, what does he care, he will be dead plus even if it was a 90% death tax, his kids would still be extremely wealthy.
AndrewsDad on June 25, 2008 at 5:51 PM
I like his more introspective songs like “Cowboy in the Jungle” and “Biloxi”.
pseudonominus on June 25, 2008 at 5:51 PM
Andrews he gave away 35 billion dollars a couple of years ago so the death tax isn’t as big of an issue anymore with him. Buffett is a genius. I wish I had credentials to apply to be his successor. But I’m a worthless hack.
ThackerAgency on June 25, 2008 at 5:53 PM
The death tax is awful. But people can go to their attorney and set up either a revocable or an irrevocable trust in which their estate can be organized to avoid the death tax.
maverick muse on June 25, 2008 at 5:55 PM
Jimmy Buffet rocks. Warren, not so much.
When I lived in NYC I used to go to the Soup Nazi to try and grab a delicious bowl of soup (and it was the indeed deicious), but the experience was just as Seinfeld portrays.
It could be a metaphor for Socialism, which promises something appetizing, but where you end up getting abused by those who dish it out.
Buy Danish on June 25, 2008 at 5:59 PM
um, it was indeed [delicious]…
Buy Danish on June 25, 2008 at 5:59 PM
You’re both wrong. Remittance Man is the best song he ever wrote.
Typhoon on June 25, 2008 at 5:59 PM
Two T’s in Buffett, btw: Jimmy and Warren, who claim they are distantly related.
Typhoon on June 25, 2008 at 6:01 PM
What I don’t understand about the wealthy Democrats like Buffet is that they know the Democrat’s tax policy is often dumb–like say capital gains taxes. It seems like that they have an obligation to speak out and not be intimidated by the socialist–often university professors and media figures–who would attack them for so. Socialist say silly, uninformed things about economics issues.
Admittedly, silliness is often in the eye of the beholder. I don’t have a problem with inheritance taxes–which for reasons utterly mysterious to me seem to be a fetish of some on the right who aren’t children of the wealthy. I can’t think of anyone better to tax than wealthy dead people. I’d love to run a government off of just that, usage taxes, and natural resource extraction taxes.
(irrelevant factiod: Buffet’s daddy was the type of congressman some people here have wet dreams over. if you look at the D-NOMINATE data, he was so far to the right that he’s about off the map.)
thuja on June 25, 2008 at 6:01 PM
Sure, if they are tax law-savy and have the means to pay a good tax lawyer to set it up and maintain it. Buffet and Bill Gates and the like want the death tax to stay the way it is becasue they won’t pay it, they have all their assets in a taxproof fortress. It’s the small business owners, and people whose wealth is not suitable for a trust who pay through the teeth, which means the revenue rolls in from other peoples death taxes, not Warren’s.
Now, if the death tax were restructured such that there were effectively no shelters, and Buffet and Gates still support it when their estates will take the full hit, then my apologies to them.
iurockhead on June 25, 2008 at 6:04 PM
According to what he said at an event I attended, his kids get nothing. Nothing. Zero. Zip. Nada. He’s got big issues with inherited wealth.
His investment philosophy is pretty simple and he comes off as a very humble guy but don’t kid yourself, the guy is a shark as the people of Gillette found out…
TheBigOldDog on June 25, 2008 at 6:09 PM
One minor difference is that McCain economic foolishness gives money back while Obama’s takes more.
Dusty on June 25, 2008 at 6:09 PM
I’m proud to say that he attended my alma mater. For three quarters.
———————
Who knew that Warren was a racist?
misterpeasea on June 25, 2008 at 6:11 PM
Nyet. See above. The guy was completely sincere. His kids get sh!t when he croaks.
TheBigOldDog on June 25, 2008 at 6:11 PM
The difference between the two gestures is that McCain’s is merely feckless, while Obama’s is foreseeably, demonstrably, inevitably disastrous.
flip on June 25, 2008 at 6:12 PM
You can add “racist” to that list now that Buffet obviously does not understand the Hope and Change ™ that is President Obama.
ScottMcC on June 25, 2008 at 6:13 PM
On the death tax, Buffett’s company Berkshire Hathaway benefits from it, so Buffett isn’t exactly impartial. Berkshire actually provides insurance against the death tax in its main business, so an onerous death tax generates revenue for the company. Also the death tax has enabled Buffett to buy several businesses on the cheap as the heirs to the business are forced to sell the company to pay the death tax.
It’s still good to know that even a liberal like Buffett thinks Obama is going too far in his confiscatory taxes. That says a lot.
phronesis on June 25, 2008 at 6:35 PM
If it suddenly ended tomorrow
I could somehow adjust to the fall
Good times and riches and son of a bitches
I’ve seen more than I can recall
These changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes
Nothing remains quite the same
Through all of the islands and all of the highlands
If we couldn’t laugh we would all go insane….
Nichevo on June 25, 2008 at 6:48 PM
Live a capitalist and conservative life, support an anti-capitalist socialist for President.
Odd as it sounds to say about a billionaire - this makes him an idiot in my book.
Jaibones on June 25, 2008 at 7:32 PM
Bambi Obama actually said he wanted to tax “big oil’s” windfall profits and use the money to send to everybody in a second stimulus check to help people pay the high prices for gasoline! Helloooooo, the tax will be passed onto consumers, raising gas prices.
So he wants to create a tax to give people money to pay the tax.
darwin-t on June 25, 2008 at 7:44 PM
I was actually more intrigued by that statement on the ticker, that money won’t be a problem for Obama or McCain.
daveintexas on June 25, 2008 at 8:02 PM
Well, it is College World Series time - and after that’s over, the Omaha Royals will be back to a regular schedule. Just head on to the big O on the Mo, drive on down 13th street to Rosenblatt Stadium, walk up and buy yourself a ticket for a day game, and you could find yourself sitting right next to Warren.
Well, at least during the 80’s and early 90’s - Buffet was known to just show up at the stadium, walk up to the box office and buy himself a ticket, then sit back and watch the game with everybody else.
He’s probably still living in the same Ranch home near 72nd Street that he and his wife bought back in the 60’s.
Amazing guy.
Wind Rider on June 25, 2008 at 8:30 PM
Hey Warren…the alarm is ringing…maybe you outta hit the snooze button and get a few more hours of sleep…or, failing that, just buy into anything Soros is selling….
AUINSC on June 25, 2008 at 9:35 PM
Barack Hussein OBummer is your typical, classical tax the crap out of you democrat. But if I were him, I’d tread carefully on his misplaced threat. There’s nothing saying that when it becomes less profitable to deliver oil to the United States, that these companies that the Bummer wants to tax into submission, are compelled to stay here. We could all end up walking, with fuel-less cars parked. Expect it with this typical nit-wit in the white house!
byteshredder on June 25, 2008 at 10:05 PM
Bear in mind, Buffet contributed heavily to both Clinton and Obama.
The price of gasoline means nothing to him.
A higher tax rate is no skin off his a$$.
Your greatest worries are his entertainment.
old trooper on June 25, 2008 at 10:44 PM
I used to work for a company owned by Berkshire Hathaway but when I found out he was a Clinton/Obama supporter I became deeply disappointed.
Now he appears to be deeply disappointed too.
Domino on June 26, 2008 at 12:03 AM
IIRC, WB claims he doesn’t pay enough taxes? Apparently his secretary pays a higher percentage than him, so he belives that the Super Wealthy need to be paying A LOT more. Umm, if you want to pay more, that’s fine, but you don’t need to be giving away other people’s money.
melda on June 26, 2008 at 12:06 AM
Buffet is the greast investor of all time and simply understands how to work the system better than just about everyone in this country, including you. His credentials as a captialist are untouchable. Buffet understands that his and all companies decide to expand based on customer demand- not because of lower capital gains taxes. The empirical evidence of business activity during periods of low capital gains taxes back this up- there’s simply no link (no, the real estate boom that carried this economy didn’t result from low cap gains.) Do you really think you know more about the effect of capital gains on business growth than Warren Buffet? Give me a break.
One of the great frauds perpetrated on ‘conservative’ voters started when wealthy families like the Waltons- who didn’t earn a dime of their inherited wealth- started to donate heavily to politicans to overturn the ‘death tax’. Most conservatives took the sucker route and jumped on board despite reports from the CBO and other reliable sources that it would nearly bankrupt the country over time.
It doesn’t matter if the world’s greatest capitalists like Buffet and Gates rail in opposition to eliminating inheritance taxes- as if inheritance taxes somehow benefit them… What the hell do they know compared to the trust fund babies of Waltons and the Hiltons!
bayam on June 26, 2008 at 2:54 AM
McCain wrong on gas tax holiday, Obama wrong on windfall profits tax. Even. Just like their poll numbers.
Seixon on June 26, 2008 at 8:23 AM
I wish Econ 101 was a mandatory course for presidential candidates and members of congress. Since when are profits below 10% so awful that they need to be taxed? Microsoft and a host of other companies not in the energy business have much greater profit margins. The MSM is partly to blame since they report profit (of very large oil companies) instead of “profit margin” to make maximum headlines. As far as the death tax in concerned I have no problem with a moderate tax on very large estates but the floor should be raised to 5 to 10 Million before any taxes kick in and moderate should be defined as 15 or 20%.
duff65 on June 26, 2008 at 3:02 PM
.
.
…and for some HA posters…..
Think_b4_speaking on June 26, 2008 at 4:13 PM