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We are in an era of national reassessment of priorities. An era where many are being asked to sacrafice for the sake of future generations. There is widespread agreement that the deficit must be brought under control, which has resulted in cuts to programs for the poor, infrastructure projects, military spending, and long held promises made to the elderly like Social Security and Medicare. What has the Republican Party ruled off the table? Taxing the super rich.
As ridiculous as it sounds, many yellow dogs (a blue dog preaches fiscal restraint out of conviction, a yellow dog preaches it out of electoral fear), appear willing to capitulate on the matter. Even the President, except when stumping in front of huge crowds of Democrats, repeatedly reverses ground on the subject when pushed by the GOP, both this past December and during the debt ceiling hostage standoff (where the Tea Party refused to let the American people go unless all their demands were met).
In what is one of the more honest pieces you will ever read, Warren Buffett, the Oracle of Omaha and billionaire, is begging the politicians in Washington to quit coddling him and his super rich pals. Buffett says,
OUR leaders have asked for "shared sacrifice." But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched.
While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks.
You are absolutely right Mr. Buffett, a man not looking to win votes or fame by jumping up on the soap box. We must rein in our excesses. We must all make sacrafices so as to not handcuff future generations with overwhelming debt. We must find balance amongst cuts to military spending, domestic spending, and raising revenue on those that have benefited the most from our nation's good fortune.
Please read Mr. Buffett's editorial and ask our leaders to do something very rare in modern politics, lead.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08... |
