Warren Buffett Defends His Secretary

[Parsad]

Article on Debbie Bosanek and Warren Buffett.  Cheers!

http://www.cnbc.com/id/46163945?__source=yahoo%7Cheadline%7Cquote%7Ctext%7C&par=yahoo

[Viking]

Politics in the US is a blood sport. You need very thick skin. The fact she went to Washington, intending to or not, she has now entered the ring on this debate. My advice be to turn down these sorts of invitations and to exit gracefully. No one needs this kind of attention. 

[tooskinneejs]

If she earned upwards of $500,000 as suggested by that pundit, it seems unlikely that she'd be buying a very modest $144,000 house to retire to.

[Tim Eriksen]

If she earned upwards of $500,000 as suggested by that pundit, it seems unlikely that she'd be buying a very modest $144,000 house to retire to.

While it is possible she earns that much it is highly unlikely.  The article in Forbes by Gregory is terrible.  His analysis is worse than Buffett's analysis of comparative taxes.  He didn't understand that Buffett used taxable income and not salary as the denominator.  Her reportedly high rate is not due to a high income tax rate, it is due to the attribution of both employee and employer portions of payroll taxes. 

Buffett reportedly said "They can't attack the facts, so they attack the person. It's ridiculous."  I wholeheartedly agree that it is wrong to attack his Secretary; however, I for one would gladly debate him on the facts.   
   

[berkshiremystery]

If she earned upwards of $500,000 as suggested by that pundit, it seems unlikely that she'd be buying a very modest $144,000 house to retire to.

Well,... there is an article from 2007 that says Debbie makes around $60,000.

http://tusb.stanford.edu/2007/07/warren_buffet_has_a_lower_tax.html

[Hawk4value]

Would the Warren Buffett of 10 or 15 years ago ever allow an innocent employee to get caught in this political Maelstorm??  I don't think so.  For that reason,and I hate to say this, I think he is beginning to lose it. When I bought the stock in 1999 I never expected him to become a political pundit. I liked the fact that he stayed above all this crap, was low key, sotto voce, and concentrated on business. And part of the "business" is to work hard to minimize taxes in every way shape and form.  My degree of disappointment in him is quite enormous.

[onyx1]

Would the Warren Buffett of 10 or 15 years ago ever allow an innocent employee to get caught in this political Maelstorm??  I don't think so.  For that reason,and I hate to say this, I think he is beginning to lose it. When I bought the stock in 1999 I never expected him to become a political pundit. I liked the fact that he stayed above all this crap, was low key, sotto voce, and concentrated on business. And part of the "business" is to work hard to minimize taxes in every way shape and form.  My degree of disappointment in him is quite enormous.

I feel the same.  It's is hard to watch a man who I hold in such high regard voluntarily allow himself (and others who work for him) to be used as a political pawns.  The cheapening of his legacy is heartbreaking to watch.   I never expected perfection from him.  Someday, I will likely see this as a minor hiccup in the context of a superlative life, but today I see it as simply unnecessary.  The fact that he is giving away almost all his wealth (while politely encouraging others to do the same) speaks loud enough about his views on the inequities in society. 

[RichardGibbons]

I suspect he's figured out that there's the potential to create as much positive change through his public persona as he does through his wealth.  In effect, he's solving the global problems with his money, and solving with the national problems with his jawboning.

He's an impressive guy, making such an effort near the end of his life to leave the world in a better place than it was when he entered it.

[txlaw]

I suspect he's figured out that there's the potential to create as much positive change through his public persona as he does through his wealth.  In effect, he's solving the global problems with his money, and solving with the national problems with his jawboning.

He's an impressive guy, making such an effort near the end of his life to leave the world in a better place than it was when he entered it.

Completely agree with you, Richard.

I get more fond of the guy the more I hear from him.  WEB is a national treasure.

[AZ_Value]

Would the Warren Buffett of 10 or 15 years ago ever allow an innocent employee to get caught in this political Maelstorm??  I don't think so.  For that reason,and I hate to say this, I think he is beginning to lose it. When I bought the stock in 1999 I never expected him to become a political pundit. I liked the fact that he stayed above all this crap, was low key, sotto voce, and concentrated on business. And part of the "business" is to work hard to minimize taxes in every way shape and form.  My degree of disappointment in him is quite enormous.

I would suggest that you feel this way because you don't agree with what he is advocating, and if his views and values were aligned with yours, you'd be cheering him on and wishing he spoke out louder.

I have learned that these discussions don't lead anywhere. People have deep rooted feelings about these topics and I am yet to see one of us walk away with a changed opinion from our debates on these internet boards.

For what it's worth I completely agree with Richard, and if some of us could put our personal bias aside you would realize that WEB has been fighting for equality for decades and decades and this is nothing new. Maybe he is getting more vocal because he feels the inequality has gotten out of hand as of late, and notwithstanding how I feel about it, if speaking out is what he feels can help bring about change, then I applaud him.

At the end of the day, some people will never be happy paying any taxes because they feel they're single handedly responsible for their status in life even though they drive their expensive cars on roads someone who probably makes $40K a year had to break his back building... I personally disagree and do not mind contributing more to this society that benefits me so much than that guy who built the road I drive on;
But at the end of the day that's what elections are for... At least the guy building roads and the guy shuffling money around for a living both get 1 vote in a democracy and they both have to live with the outcome.

Edit:
PS: I personally haven't seen anything that would lead me to believe that WEB is "losing it". And I kind of resent the fact that you would portray him as "losing it" just because his political opinion is not in line with yours. If WEB is "losing it", then I would suggest Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain etc.... are raving lunatics that need to be institutionalized, and the sooner the better.