Warren Buffet says ...

[dieseltaylor]

“There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class,the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.”

– Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway

How Much Wealth Do The Economic Elite Have?

While 68.3 million Americans struggle to get enough food to eat and wages are declining for 90 percent of the population, US millionaire household wealth has reached an unprecedented level. According to an extensive study by auditing and financial advisory firm Deloitte, US millionaire households now have $38.6 trillion in wealth. On top of the $38.6 trillion this study reveals, they have an estimated $6.3 trillion hidden in offshore accounts.

In total, US millionaire households have at least $45.9 trillion in wealth, the majority of this wealth is held within the upper one-tenth of one percent of the population.

If all this isn’t obscene enough, to further demonstrate how the global economy has now been completely rigged, Deloitte’s analysis predicated, based on current trends, that US millionaire households will see a 225 percent increase in wealth to $87.1 trillion by 2020. Accounting for wealth hidden in offshore accounts, they are projected to have over $100 trillion in total within the next decade.

I have to admit to being a trifle shocked. Deloittes splitting on the elite like that - where is the loyalty these days? And Warren Buffoon is an old man who is obviously going senile.

http://www.alternet.org/story/151999/meet_the_global_financial_elites_controlling_%2446_trillion_in_wealth?akid=7394.215334.eDzl-l&rd=1&t=6

the underlying article here:

http://ampedstatus.org/exclusive-analysis-of-financial-terrorism-in-america-over-1-million-deaths-annually-62-million-people-with-zero-net-worth-as-the-economic-elite-make-off-with-46-trillion/

it does seem quite shrill in its tone but then the figures and the suffering [and being American] probably explains that.

[Michael Emrys]

Buffet's statement reminded me that Barbara Garson said the same thing in almost the same words over 20 years ago.

Michael

[mike_the_wino]

'Let then eat cake"....and we all know how well that turned out. Doesn't seem like the type quote some one, anyone, would want associated to them if there is actual class warfare.

[ASL Veteran]

I have to admit to being a trifle shocked. Deloittes splitting on the elite like that - where is the loyalty these days? And Warren Buffoon is an old man who is obviously going senile.

http://www.alternet.org/story/151999/meet_the_global_financial_elites_controlling_%2446_trillion_in_wealth?akid=7394.215334.eDzl-l&rd=1&t=6

the underlying article here:

http://ampedstatus.org/exclusive-analysis-of-financial-terrorism-in-america-over-1-million-deaths-annually-62-million-people-with-zero-net-worth-as-the-economic-elite-make-off-with-46-trillion/

it does seem quite shrill in its tone but then the figures and the suffering [and being American] probably explains that.

Warren Buffett is a leftist through and through so he has an agenda. You don't think the poor are paying 35,000 per plate to attend President Obama's birthday bash do you? Perhaps a few of those millionaires and billionaires riding in their corporate jets lighting their cigars with $100 bills attended the big shindigs. Wall Street is run through with Progressive leftists. What do you think George Soros is? How about Bono? He loves to rail against how everyone needs to pay more in taxes then he stashes all his cash in Ireland. Do what I say not what I do.

It may not make sense to some for the wealthy to be leftists like you Diesel and why they have this outlook is unclear, but the best theory I've read is that they want to keep others from attaining their status by putting roadblocks to the success of others. So they rail about others paying more taxes because they know that the taxes will hurt the up and comers trying to break into their social class a lot more than it will hurt the old money that is already established.

[Magpie_Oz]

I'm more into Jimmy Buffett than Warren ..... ahhh Margaritaville !

[Sixxkiller]

Now Buffett getting his hooks into Bank of America. Why a company that in the last two years has made profits of 3.2 and 2 billion in last two years needs a 5 Billion dollar bailout is beyond me???

[womble]

Now Buffett getting his hooks into Bank of America. Why a company that in the last two years has made profits of 3.2 and 2 billion in last two years needs a 5 Billion dollar bailout is beyond me???

Because much accountancy consists of lying in an approved fashion.

[JonS]

Jon Stewart had a very funny segment on the Fox News reaction to Buffett's OpEd (which basically mirrors ASLs reaction, right down to the 'Buffett is a socialist' thing ... coincidence?) recently (actually, it's split into two segments).

[Dietrich]

First there was WoW... then there was WoCW.

...You are a nerd crowd; there is no doubt in my mind!

After seeing that Fox News segment about the percentage of "poor" (quotation marks theirs) households that have certain standard household items, I'd like to see an equivalent listing of percentage of not-"poor" households that have certain luxury items (such as yachts, cars that cost more than $100k each, etc.).

[Lt Belenko]

So how old is Mr Buffet - mid 80s or so. What the guy should do is put his money where is mouth is. Sell all his assets put away about $20 Million - a mil a year for the rest of his life, if he made it another 20 years. Then take the other $8 billion or so and donate it all, I mean ALL, to the US government. And then SHUT THE FORNICATE UP.

Let Ted Turner and Bill Gates join in the "Formerly a Billionaire Club".

[Bigduke6]

My guess is either -

(a) Warren has figured out he can't take it with him and so has decided to tell tihngs like he sees them as, from his perspective, he has nothing to gain from staying quiet.

Not that I think he's found religion, but rather, a man nearing at the end of his life with no more need of friends or advancement is more likely to state his mind about right and wrong as he sees it, rather than say a younger man who is still pushing to get somewhere and will pay a price if he angers his peers.

There is no down side for Buffet to say the wealthy pay too much in taxes, unless he wants to amass more money. And my guess is that he has decided that for whatever reason, he has enough.

So kudos to him for a fine moral statement, but let's not forget that during his working years he chose to amass personal wealth rather than serve society. It doesn't mean he is a bad man, but in any case he was not a philanthropist all his life, he was a businessman. However, towards the end of his life he said some philanthropic things that very definately challenged assumptions of the very wealthy class he is/was a member of.

( Buffet has taken a look at this graphic -

And decided that if the revolution is coming he had better get on the record as masses-friendly before the peasants start torching manors.

That is a cycnical view and I would like to give Buffet more credit. However, when it comes to predicting human behavior I find being cynical usually makes my predictions more accurate.

A final note, I disagree that Buffet is being insincere by calling for wealth redistribution without redistributing his own.

If wealth distribution in the US is the issue, the problem is not one or two obscenely wealth people, but about three million. If there are 311 million Americans and one per cent of them control a lopsided proportion of the wealth (40 per cent by most estimates) then that's 3.1 million Americans controlling 40 per cent of the wealth.

Interestingly, that is a wealth distribution roughly similar to Egypt.

Were Buffet to hand all his billions over to charity overnight, that would not change the overalll problem, as rich as he is he is only (of the more wealthy, true) individual in a group of 3.1 million people. America's wealth distribution would remain similar to Egypt's.

I think Buffet's point is, the way the system is set up the very wealthy may concentrate wealth without paying taxes, and every one else may not. Not, the wealthy have too much money, that is a different issue.

And in any case, he has not died and we have not seen his will. If his wealth goes to charity, then we can judge him a reasonably charitable individual. Until he dies he is a member of society like the rest of us and we must judge him not only by his actions, but the intentions behind them.

I think that approach can go far towards explaining why the ueber-rich who are having moral quandries do not simply turn over lump sums to the US government. Is the US government an organization that spends money wisely? In ways that benefit the great mass of Americans? In ways that strengthen the American economy? Have the spending policies of the US government helped or harmed America over the medium and long term?

I would think that a man who clearly has great skill in amassing money efficiently would have excellent judgement as to where depositing his money would have a useful effect, and where it would be wasteful or have a negative effect. A guy like that is not just a money manager, he is literally one of the best in the world.

Perhaps if the really skilled money managers hesitate to hand over large lump sums to the US government, the rest of us should draw our own conclusions.

[JonS]

So how old is Mr Buffet - mid 80s or so. What the guy should do is put his money where is mouth is. Sell all his assets put away about $20 Million - a mil a year for the rest of his life, if he made it another 20 years. Then take the other $8 billion or so and donate it all, I mean ALL, to the US government. And then SHUT THE FORNICATE UP.

Paraphased; "I disapprove of what you say, so I will create a strawman and then tell you to STFU"

Did someone finally take free speech round the back of the woodshed, then?

[dieseltaylor]

I thought it was fairly well-known that his children are getting a tiny fraction of his fortune. He, and his family live simple lives in the jet-set city of Omaha.

His money and that of the thousands he has made rich has been made by buying industries where there is an income stream. Compared to the Wall St scum you could not meet a more different man and his belief in how wealth should be generated.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/18467661/Growing_Up_Buffett

So before you get to insulting a guy who is probably the most laudable of the super-rich perhaps you better read up on him.