Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Warren Buffett on job creators


According to the GOP, and their economists, you cannot tax the rich (sorry job creators), because that would have a negative impact on employment.  Warren Buffett (a very job creating guy) thinks differently.  He says:
"Back in the 1980s and 1990s, tax rates for the rich were far higher, and my percentage rate was in the middle of the pack. According to a theory I sometimes hear, I should have thrown a fit and refused to invest because of the elevated tax rates on capital gains and dividends.
I didn’t refuse, nor did others. I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone — not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 — shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain. People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off. And to those who argue that higher rates hurt job creation, I would note that a net of nearly 40 million jobs were added between 1980 and 2000. You know what’s happened since then: lower tax rates and far lower job creation."
Of course this involves actual evidence, which is irrelevant for the discussion about economic policy with Republicans these days.  In their view, Warren Buffett is a job creation denier.

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