By Arthur Piccolo
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Aug. 29, 2014: It is no surprise Barack Obama and Warren Buffett get along so well together.
They share a very important talent. They are both notable Con Men.
Snake Oil salesman if you prefer a term that emphasizes their slipperiness.
What separates them is quite a few billion dollars. But once Obama is free of the Presidency and we free of him, Barack will be sure to narrow that gap somewhat when he cashes in very likely with some assistance from Old Warren if Buffett is still around and not gone to Billionaire Heaven.
So why is Buffett getting to “party” with President Obama in this week’s edition of Obama’s America having left Martha’s Vineyard and getting ready for the fall season and lots more activity watching Barack? You could say it is all about hamburgers that has Warren Buffett making his first trip into Obama’s America. Burger King specifically.
I began practicing for this episode a few days ago with this comment I published in the Wall Street Journal in response to their article “Berkshire, Burger King Deal Draws Criticism Over Taxes” …..
“Warren Buffett’s hypocrisy is finally front and center. The fact is, Buffett is a Greed Merchant who has always been adroit at marketing himself as the lovable harmless gee shucks investor from Omaha, Nebraska.”
“Or like his constant “complaint” that his secretary pays a higher tax rate than him. Well there is nothing stopping Buffett from voluntarily paying a higher tax rate if he wants and setting an example. But of course he does not.”
“Then there is his “foundation,” which is a very effective way to avoid taxes on lots of his wealth while increasing his influence and enhancing his image with his tax FREE gifts to various charities.”
“Buffett would make a great Snake Oil salesman. Sorry he already is!”
I have waited much too long to give it to this Scam Artist. Add that to Con Artist and Snake Oil Salesman/You know what is even more insufferable about the Super Rich other than their abusive obscene wealth? It t is when they also try to come across as saintly. Another one is that Air Bag Michael Bloomberg; don’t worry I am not going to waste any ink on him.
As for Buffett, he has a well-honed act as a gentle lovable humanitarian Uncle Warren who is oh so critical of the Super Rich not paying their fair share of taxes in America. What a Fraud. We have to stop giving these Clowns a free rife if we are ever going to create a better society for all.
A perfect example of Buffett’s nonsense is his many appearances on the ‘Charlie Rose Show,’ when the best water boy the rich and powerful ever had, Charlie Rose, chuckles sometimes for an entire hour on PBS with Warren Buffett, as Buffett’s spins his country boy BS.
Let me get back to the issue at hand before I return to the larger issue of Buffett’s phoniness and finally his “perfect” match with Slick Barack.
Buffett richly deserves this vitriol in this week’s Obama’s America because in many ways, his unrelenting hypocrisy is the worse sin of all in society. He merits being hammered hard, especially since he so rarely is elsewhere, and even I have largely given him a Free Ride.
You probably already know what Warren Buffett did this week but here is how my partner, the Wall Street Journal on 8/26/14, explained it …
“Burger King on Tuesday announced its roughly $11 billion agreement to buy Tim Hortons, the Canadian coffee-and-doughnut chain. The deal is a so-called inversion, as it will move Miami-based Burger King’s headquarters to lower-tax Canada. It is also structured to shield Burger King holders from capital-gains taxes.”
“The deal, which has been in the works for months, put Mr. Buffett in an awkward position, as the 83-year-old billionaire has been a public advocate of higher taxes on the wealthy. In a 2011 essay, he laid out the case for why the wealthy should pay more in taxes, leading to the so-called Buffett Rule, a tax-fairness principle that has been embraced by the Obama administration.”
“The Berkshire Hathaway chairman, who is putting $3 billion into the Burger King deal in the form of preferred shares, doesn’t consider it an inversion, according to a person familiar with his thinking.”
As I said Con Man. Buffett is putting $3 BILLION into a deal that will have Burger King moving its headquarters to Canada to lower its taxes. Let me give you a little more from WSJ …
“Although Mr. Buffett has rarely aired his thinking on U.S. corporate taxes in public, he in the past has pursued deals that minimize Berkshire’s payments to the government. He has also said, he wouldn’t voluntarily pay any more in taxes than Berkshire owed.”
And to make it even better for Buffett, read this from the WSJ article ..
“The deal is structured to shield Burger King’s shareholders, including 3G Capital, from taxes on capital gains. For shareholders of the acquiring company with capital gains, inversions normally trigger tax payments—without yielding cash from a sale of the shares.”
This is the guy Barack Obama touts as his favorite business leader and a model for other rich business people. President Obama has gone so far as to present Buffett with the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom This is what Obama said in presenting Buffett the distinguished award: “….not only as one of the world’s richest men but also one of the most admired and respected” who had “demonstrated that integrity isn’t just a good trait, it is good for business.”
That’s right Barack, you and Warren paragon’s of INTEGRITY … maybe in some very weird, scary alternative universe far away, but not here on Earth.
What is most “endearing” about Buffett is the admonition he is most known, for repeating over and over and over again for years whenever he is in front of a camera that he is so upset his lowly secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does on his income taxes. And all the dancing seals like Charlie Rose applaud him for that statement over and over again. WAKE UP …
Billionaire Buffett keeps paying a lower tax rate than his secretary year after year. He could volunteer to pay the government a higher tax and set an example and make a powerful statement. But of course he does not. Buffett gets his very rich cake and he gets to eat it all too!
Want more? Buffett’s estimated current net wealth is almost $70 BILLION, which means his actual wealth is probably even higher – the part he has well hidden. So how much will go to estate taxes when 83-year-old Warren goes to his Eternal Reward in Billionaire’s Heaven? Very little!
Buffett is going to leave 85% of it to his good friend and fellow very, very rich BS artist, Bill Gate’s FOUNDATION, which means NO taxes on it!
One more you might think Uncle Warren would allow the Little People to participate in his wealth machine by being able to buy stock in his company. THINK AGAIN.
His Berkshire Hathaway is the most expensive stock in history – currently you can buy ONE share for about $200,000.
Yes indeed, Barack Obama and Warren Buffett are a PERFECT match.
Two ‘talented’ Snake Oil salesmen for the 21st century.
And the Rigged Game goes on and on and on ….
And the rest of us pay the terrible price!
