{"id":15125,"date":"2011-09-19T09:41:16","date_gmt":"2011-09-19T16:41:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/?p=15125"},"modified":"2011-09-19T15:38:35","modified_gmt":"2011-09-19T22:38:35","slug":"warren-buffetts-secretary-an-open-letter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/15125\/warren-buffetts-secretary-an-open-letter\/","title":{"rendered":"Warren Buffett’s Secretary – An Open Letter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear Ms. Warren Buffett’s Secretary,<\/p>\n

First, and on behalf of everyone who feels as I do, please accept our heartfelt condolence that you have been thrust onto the stage of\u00a0national demagoguery and class-warfare.\u00a0 I can’t imagine\u00a0being\u00a0constantly referred to as: “Warren\u00a0Buffett’s Secretary” on\u00a0the national news and in\u00a0speeches by the President of the United States of America.\u00a0 Having\u00a0your personal income tax rate\u00a0not only held up for scrutiny, but co-opted\u00a0as the basis for raising taxes on someone else (someone who’s done you no harm that you are aware of), must\u00a0also be an uncomfortable position indeed, made all the more\u00a0so by the fact that your own boss put you there.\u00a0 Having said that… I feel compelled to answer the question that has thrust you into the hot spotlight of public scrutiny and in so doing, I hope to stop this before you become, like Farrah Fawcett before you, the poster child of\u00a0prurient interest.<\/p>\n

The question: Why do you, Warren Buffett’s Secretary,\u00a0pay a greater tax rate than your boss Warren Buffett?<\/p>\n

This was\u00a0less than ably restated by the President of the United States of America today in his speech on raising taxes… I mean taming the deficit: “Warren Buffett’s secretary should not pay more in taxes than Warren Buffet.” You see, this is how demagoguery can get out of hand and the next thing you know, you are\u00a0thumbtacked on bedroom walls all over the nation.\u00a0\u00a0So, before we can explain why you pay a higher rate than your boss, we must first help POTUS understand the different between a tax rate, and taxes paid.\u00a0 Mr. President, Warren Buffett’s Secretary pays a higher rate (a higher percentage) of her income in income taxes.\u00a0 This in no way suggests she pays more…\u00a0as a matter of fact, Warren Buffett pays a great deal more taxes than his Secretary does; he just pays a lower combined rate.<\/p>\n

To answer the specific question then: You, Warren Buffett’s Secretary, pay a higher rate <\/em>of tax on your\u00a0income because\u00a0you, even being the hard working and integral part of Warren Buffett’s operation that you most assuredly must be, are\u00a0trading time for money… That is to say, you show up Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I feel compelled to answer the question that has thrust you, Ms. Warren Buffett’s Secretary, into the hot spotlight of public scrutiny and in so doing, I hope to stop this before you become, like Farrah Fawcett before you, the poster child of prurient interest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[251,29],"tags":[519],"class_list":{"0":"post-15125","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-big-mother","7":"category-group-therapy","8":"tag-warren-buffetts-secretary","10":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2324,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2324\/sharks-eating-sharks-its-1974-all-over-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":15125,"position":0},"title":"Sharks Eating Sharks: It’s 1974, All Over Again","author":"Brian Brady","date":"December 5, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"\"You suck!\" \"Well, you're a big fathead !\" I like to watch the stock market opening on Bloomberg Television. The cable company lets me have Bloomberg, free, until 8AM so I can get my fix while I lay cocooned in bed. A few weeks ago, Goldman Sachs, the premier investment\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Investment"","block_context":{"text":"Investment","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/investment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5078,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/5078\/greed-is-good-how-the-rich-get-rich\/","url_meta":{"origin":15125,"position":1},"title":"Greed is Good: How the Rich Get Rich","author":"Thomas Hall","date":"October 17, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"I think Gordon Gecko was on to something, greed is good. In fact, the combination of greed and fear are even better, or at least they are telltale signs, it seems - for when to enter or exit the market. Amidst the financial turmoil, Charlie Rose recently interviewed Warren Buffett\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Group Therapy"","block_context":{"text":"Group Therapy","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/group-therapy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15256,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/15256\/why-do-liberals-and-progressives-in-america-deny-their-beliefs\/","url_meta":{"origin":15125,"position":2},"title":"Why do Liberals and Progressives in America deny their beliefs?","author":"Al Lorenz","date":"October 31, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"While reading Jeff's post asking about how people can justify theft from others in the name of government, I was most stricken by the absolute denial from those who defended more and more taxation have over their own beliefs.\u00a0 Even though they clearly support socialism, and can put forward tales\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Big Mother"","block_context":{"text":"Big Mother","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/big-mother\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":930,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/930\/interview-the-x-broker-jeff-corbett\/","url_meta":{"origin":15125,"position":3},"title":"INTERVIEW: The X Broker, Jeff Corbett","author":"Brian Brady","date":"January 22, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Jeff Corbett is one of the rising stars in Real Estate 2.0 . 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The song is Disorder in the house: Zevon was in the process of dying when that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogging"","block_context":{"text":"Blogging","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2354,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2354\/unchained-melodies-mohammeds-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":15125,"position":5},"title":"Unchained melodies: Mohammed’s radio","author":"Greg Swann","date":"December 11, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Warren Zevon's Mohammed's radio for Russell Shaw, recovering pirate broadcaster: Patty Loveless has one of the richest high lonesome voices in newgrass. 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