Warren Buffet's secretary....

[PostmodernProphet]

found this on the interweb.....apparently, based on 2009 IRS data anyone who earns more than $349k a year is in the top 1% of income earners (and actually it looks like it would be even lower in more recent years).....

http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/20/news/economy/occupy_wall_street_income/index.htm

so what are the odds that the personal secretary of one of the richest men in the world, with access to inside information on lots of investment opportunities, is actually a 1%er..........

thus, Obama's entire platform is based on the question, is it fair that Warren Buffet pays a lower tax rate than another 1%er.........

[fj1200]

so what are the odds that the personal secretary of one of the richest men in the world, with access to inside information on lots of investment opportunities, is actually a 1%er..........

thus, Obama's entire platform is based on the question, is it fair that Warren Buffet pays a lower tax rate than another 1%er.........

Not sure I understand the question but I think it highly unlikely that she make $300k+ per year especially considering Buffett makes $100k in salary iirc. I also highly doubt that his secretary is trading on inside information. Best case scenario is that she is a shareholder which would have made her incredibly wealthy if she has owned shares from the beginning.

But yes, it's fair. We tax capital at lower rates for a reason, it's beneficial.

[PostmodernProphet]

Not sure I understand the question but I think it highly unlikely that she make $300k+ per year especially considering Buffett makes $100k in salary iirc. I also highly doubt that his secretary is trading on inside information. Best case scenario is that she is a shareholder which would have made her incredibly wealthy if she has owned shares from the beginning.

But yes, it's fair. We tax capital at lower rates for a reason, it's beneficial.


well, it's been stated that she pays 15% in taxes....if that's so she's in the $200k to $500k tax bracket.......that puts her at least in the top 5%.........

and lest you continue to not understand the question let me be specific.....is this evidence that Obama's chief weapon in his "it isn't fair" campaign is bogus?.......

[fj1200]

well, it's been stated that she pays 15% in taxes....if that's so she's in the $200k to $500k tax bracket.......that puts her at least in the top 5%.........

and lest you continue to not understand the question let me be specific.....is this evidence that Obama's chief weapon in his "it isn't fair" campaign is bogus?.......

You may want to check your evidence.


Thanks to ABC (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2012/01/warren-buffett-and-his-secretary-talk-taxes/), we now have a number on the difference between Warren Buffett's tax rate, and his secretary's. According to the network, "Bosanek pays a tax rate of 35.8 percent of income, while Buffett pays a rate at 17.4 percent."
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/01/how-rich-is-warren-buffetts-secretary/252056/

But if I heard correctly BO used two statements in the SOTU, the first being that she paid a higher rate than Buffett and then later stating is it fair she pays more taxes. The first is an argument for taxing capital at a lower rate but the second is an outright lie as Buffett probably pays orders of magnitude more than she does.