OMAHA, Neb. — Billionaire Warren Buffett said Wednesday he’s willing to match any contributions that Republican members of Congress make to help reduce the national debt.
Buffett told Time magazine about his offer in a conversation about why he’s optimistic about the nation’s future.
Buffett, who is chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, was criticized by Republicans last year for his suggestion that Congress increase taxes on the “mega-rich” like himself.
Several Republicans, including Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, suggested Buffett just donate money to help the nation balance its books instead of asking to pay higher taxes.
“It restores my faith in human nature to think that there are people who have been around Washington all this time and are not yet so cynical as to think that (the deficit) can’t be solved by voluntary contributions,” Buffett said to the magazine.
Buffett did not immediately respond Wednesday afternoon to a message from The Associated Press.
Buffett tells Time that he doesn’t think many Republicans will be willing to take him up on his offer to match their contributions. The longtime Democrat said he’d even triple anything McConnell gives.
McConnell spokesman Don Stewart said Congress made it possible for people like Buffett, who argue for higher taxes, to check a box on their tax form and send in a check, but McConnell’s not likely to contribute.
“Sen. McConnell says that Washington should be smaller, rather than taxes getting bigger,” Stewart said.
Buffett has said he believes his tax rate is too low compared with what middle-income wage earners pay, especially as President Barack Obama and Congress struggle to rein in the growing federal debt. He said in a New York Times opinion piece that he paid $6,938,744 in federal taxes in 2010, or about 17.4 percent of his taxable income.
For years Buffett has said he doesn’t believe it is right that he is taxed at a lower rate than his secretary. And he says most of the mega-rich people he knows wouldn’t mind paying more in taxes.
“We need a tax system that takes very good care of people who just really aren’t as well adapted to the market system, and to capitalism, but are nevertheless just as good citizens, and are doing things that are of use in society,” Buffett said.
Go Warren Buffet!
Mitch McConnel—– just go away you phony!
To the degree that I sympathise with anyone (not much), it’s Buffett’s congressional critics, who were reacting to Buffett’s perpetual grandstanding and are nothing like as rich. They don’t deserve to be bullied by someone with vastly greater personal resources. In the unlikely (!) event that some wealthy conservative were to announce he was willing to donate one hundred million dollars to the US government if Buffett would match it, I suspect Buffett would crawfish at the speed of light.
LOL
He said he would match “whatever” they gave!
It could be 1 dollar !
He called their bluff and they folded!
Buffet is calling the GOP’s bluff. They say their focus is deficit reduction. I’m not sure how cuts would reduce the deficit when the deficit is the bill for services already rendered. Don’t we need money to pay the bill?
“Sen. McConnell says that Washington should be smaller, rather than taxes getting bigger,” Stewart said.
It seems, then, that the real focus is smaller government and lower taxes, with the deficit as only a convenient excuse. What have they proposed for cuts, again? I haven’t seen them step up to cut their own health insurance and retirement benefits yet.
Buffett offers to match contributions of Republican Congress members on a 1-to-1 or even a 3-to-1 basis. He refuses to voluntarily contribute to the Treasury on his own implying he thinks he is better at giving away his wealth better than the government. If Buffett gave 1% of his wealth to the Treasury, or approximately $400 million, it would pale in comparison to the $6.9 million he paid in income taxes in 2010. Don’t trust his words since they are purely political. When he writes the big check then he deserves our attention.
How are his words “purely political”. He is not running for office. His words are purely to point out GREED and its political supporters.
And if he ever did write the check, you wouldn’t give him attention. And I’m sure that you haven’t given any attention to the tax cuts and wars that took us from a balanced budget to an unmaintainable deficit and destroyed our economy.
Warren, stop posturing and write a check for YOUR
perceived indignation. You are the one whining about this
and like others of your ilk, they refuse to step up to the plate
and do what they say is the right thing. What a phoney propostion,
the call to match. YOU are doing the complaining so why don’t
YOU do something about it all on your own? In other words, you
are a blowhard without the guts to do what you say is the “right” thing
all on your own. Write the check Warren if you got the guts to.
Congressional republicans are getting “Margaretavilled” …… wasted away again.