"So a single financial firm received a one-year tax windfall that's more than the federal government allocates to its largest student aid program (Pell Grants) for the entire nation," observed journalist David Sirota. (Photo: Fortune Live Media/Flickr/cc)
With System So Rigged, Warren Buffett's Company Rakes in $29 Billion It Didn't Earn (or Want)
"To put that enormous windfall in perspective, $29 billion is roughly 2.5 times the entire annual budget for the Centers for Disease Control."
Adding to the mountains upon mountains of evidence that the American economy is thoroughly rigged in favor of the wealthy, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett told investors in a letter (pdf) over the weekend that his company saw a $29 billion boost in net worth that it didn't even earn--all thanks to the GOP tax cuts Buffett fervently lobbied against and said he didn't want.
"So a single financial firm received a one-year tax windfall that's more than the federal government allocates to its largest student aid program (Pell Grants) for the entire nation."
--David Sirota
"Berkshire's gain in net worth during 2017 was $65.3 billion," Buffett observed. "A large portion of our gain did not come from anything we accomplished at Berkshire...only $36 billion came from Berkshire's operations. The remaining $29 billion was delivered to us in December when Congress rewrote the U.S. tax code."
In response to Buffett's letter--which further demonstrated that, in the U.S., the wealthy get wealthier by default while pay for most Americans remains stagnant, even as they work longer hours--commentators pointed out the fact that $29 billion is equal to or more than what the U.S. spends on crucial social programs and government agencies.
Highlighting the fact that Berkshire's net worth boost came because its "deferred tax liabilities now pay off at the 21 percent instead of the 35 percent rate," journalist David Dayen notes that $29 billion is "the equivalent of what the U.S. spends on Section 8 vouchers in a year."
But while the Republican tax plan is certainly making the economy even more rigged, the earnings of the wealthiest Americans in 2017--and, for that matter, every year since the 1960s--show that the balance was heavily tilted in their favor long before the GOP bill was even conceived. Buffett himself famously admitted that "there's been class warfare going on for the last 20 years, and my class has won."
"U.S. wealth increased by $8.5 trillion in 2017, with the richest 2 percent getting about $1.15 trillion, which is more than the total cost of Medicaid (federal AND state) and the complete safety net, both mandatory and discretionary, including the low-income programs that make up the social support package derisively referred to as 'welfare,'" notes author Paul Buchheit in a piece for Common Dreams on Monday.
"How was their money made? Almost entirely by passively waiting for the stock market to go up," Buchheit writes. "American inequality is extreme, shameful, perverse, and growing....Yet by some unfathomable measure of ignorance or malice, Republicans cheer on the millionaire-making stock market while telling the most vulnerable Americans that they're spending too much on food."
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just four days to go in our Spring Campaign, we are not even halfway to our goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Adding to the mountains upon mountains of evidence that the American economy is thoroughly rigged in favor of the wealthy, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett told investors in a letter (pdf) over the weekend that his company saw a $29 billion boost in net worth that it didn't even earn--all thanks to the GOP tax cuts Buffett fervently lobbied against and said he didn't want.
"So a single financial firm received a one-year tax windfall that's more than the federal government allocates to its largest student aid program (Pell Grants) for the entire nation."
--David Sirota
"Berkshire's gain in net worth during 2017 was $65.3 billion," Buffett observed. "A large portion of our gain did not come from anything we accomplished at Berkshire...only $36 billion came from Berkshire's operations. The remaining $29 billion was delivered to us in December when Congress rewrote the U.S. tax code."
In response to Buffett's letter--which further demonstrated that, in the U.S., the wealthy get wealthier by default while pay for most Americans remains stagnant, even as they work longer hours--commentators pointed out the fact that $29 billion is equal to or more than what the U.S. spends on crucial social programs and government agencies.
Highlighting the fact that Berkshire's net worth boost came because its "deferred tax liabilities now pay off at the 21 percent instead of the 35 percent rate," journalist David Dayen notes that $29 billion is "the equivalent of what the U.S. spends on Section 8 vouchers in a year."
But while the Republican tax plan is certainly making the economy even more rigged, the earnings of the wealthiest Americans in 2017--and, for that matter, every year since the 1960s--show that the balance was heavily tilted in their favor long before the GOP bill was even conceived. Buffett himself famously admitted that "there's been class warfare going on for the last 20 years, and my class has won."
"U.S. wealth increased by $8.5 trillion in 2017, with the richest 2 percent getting about $1.15 trillion, which is more than the total cost of Medicaid (federal AND state) and the complete safety net, both mandatory and discretionary, including the low-income programs that make up the social support package derisively referred to as 'welfare,'" notes author Paul Buchheit in a piece for Common Dreams on Monday.
"How was their money made? Almost entirely by passively waiting for the stock market to go up," Buchheit writes. "American inequality is extreme, shameful, perverse, and growing....Yet by some unfathomable measure of ignorance or malice, Republicans cheer on the millionaire-making stock market while telling the most vulnerable Americans that they're spending too much on food."
Adding to the mountains upon mountains of evidence that the American economy is thoroughly rigged in favor of the wealthy, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett told investors in a letter (pdf) over the weekend that his company saw a $29 billion boost in net worth that it didn't even earn--all thanks to the GOP tax cuts Buffett fervently lobbied against and said he didn't want.
"So a single financial firm received a one-year tax windfall that's more than the federal government allocates to its largest student aid program (Pell Grants) for the entire nation."
--David Sirota
"Berkshire's gain in net worth during 2017 was $65.3 billion," Buffett observed. "A large portion of our gain did not come from anything we accomplished at Berkshire...only $36 billion came from Berkshire's operations. The remaining $29 billion was delivered to us in December when Congress rewrote the U.S. tax code."
In response to Buffett's letter--which further demonstrated that, in the U.S., the wealthy get wealthier by default while pay for most Americans remains stagnant, even as they work longer hours--commentators pointed out the fact that $29 billion is equal to or more than what the U.S. spends on crucial social programs and government agencies.
Highlighting the fact that Berkshire's net worth boost came because its "deferred tax liabilities now pay off at the 21 percent instead of the 35 percent rate," journalist David Dayen notes that $29 billion is "the equivalent of what the U.S. spends on Section 8 vouchers in a year."
But while the Republican tax plan is certainly making the economy even more rigged, the earnings of the wealthiest Americans in 2017--and, for that matter, every year since the 1960s--show that the balance was heavily tilted in their favor long before the GOP bill was even conceived. Buffett himself famously admitted that "there's been class warfare going on for the last 20 years, and my class has won."
"U.S. wealth increased by $8.5 trillion in 2017, with the richest 2 percent getting about $1.15 trillion, which is more than the total cost of Medicaid (federal AND state) and the complete safety net, both mandatory and discretionary, including the low-income programs that make up the social support package derisively referred to as 'welfare,'" notes author Paul Buchheit in a piece for Common Dreams on Monday.
"How was their money made? Almost entirely by passively waiting for the stock market to go up," Buchheit writes. "American inequality is extreme, shameful, perverse, and growing....Yet by some unfathomable measure of ignorance or malice, Republicans cheer on the millionaire-making stock market while telling the most vulnerable Americans that they're spending too much on food."