As time progresses, the concern over the nation’s debt and plummeting employment opportunities continues to dominate the political scene. Multi-billionaire, Warren Buffett, has advocated that he and his fellow billionaires be required by Congress to pay higher taxes as a “shared sacrifice” in lifting the country from its deepening debt crisis.
Firmly rooted on the opposite corner is Charles Koch, CEO of Koch Industries (who retains a lofty net worth of $25 billion), stated that his “business and non-profit investments are much more beneficial to societal well-being than sending more money to Washington.”
President Obama’s proposed jobs plan, which was just yesterday rejected by the Senate, urged Congress to recognize the need for wealthy billionaires to step up to the plate and join the patriotic effort to heal the nation’s wounded economy. Clearly, there remains a stark divide with the issue of taxing the rich. GOP-leaders are rallying against higher taxes for the wealthy, proclaiming doing so would be class warfare.
The back and forth accusations and debates have caused many in both corners of Congress to go on the defensive. However, little feedback overall has been heard from the billionaires themselves.
The Patriotic Billionaire Challenge
A recent project conducted by Salon–the Patriotic Billionaire Challenge–sought to identify just how many of the country’s wealthiest citizens shared the same sentiment as Warren Buffet.
The Patriotic Billionaire Challenge reached out to the members of the Forbes 400 list, a compilation of the individuals whose net worth was at least $1 billion, and asked the pressing question: “Are you, like Warren Buffet, willing to pay higher taxes?”
Billionaires Share their Two Cents on Higher Taxes
Not surprisingly, a majority of the billionaires contacted elected not to comment. Among them are Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates and Steven Spielberg, to name a few.
In fact, a meager eight people responded (including Buffett), most providing the survey with a firm affirmation that they would be willing to pay higher taxes. Centaurus Advisors hedge fund manager, John Arnold, who has a net worth of $3.5 billion, supported Warren Buffett’s position with the condition that it be “part of a comprehensive package to address the federal deficit.”
While the “The Buffett Rule,” as dubbed by Obama, was meant to reduce the U.S. deficit, many of the billionaires who responded to the Challenge with a “no” identified excessive and careless federal spending as the primary root of their hesitation toward higher taxes.
Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team and chairman of HDNet, expressed he would be “thrilled to write a check,” but also noted that “too much money is wasted on bureaucracy, adminis-trivia, pensions and over-expansive federal employment.”
The continued point of contention from those who support Koch’s reservations is centered upon unnecessary federal expenditures. Perhaps if they were certain the money wouldn’t be wasted, more billionaires would be willing to fork over higher taxes for the good of the nation.
