Here is my second article response, this one written by Warren Buffett.
Article 2 , Quote 1- "I may wish to have all jobs pay at least $15 an hour. But that minimum would almost certainly reduce employment in a major way, crushing many workers possessing only basic skills. Smaller increases, though obviously welcome, will still leave many hardworking Americans mired in poverty."
Well, the article is not off to a good start. It's all doom and gloom. I says he wishes jobs could pay, but then immediately says it's impossible. As millions of Americans are right now mired in poverty, one wonders what he is talking about?
Article 2, Quote 2- "The better answer is a major and carefully crafted expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which currently goes to millions of low-income workers."
Things like this come up at lot. Just throw money at some government program. Take a government program that as of now is not working quite right and tweak and change it in one way or other and everything will be great. Though government bureaucracy is never the answer and has a very mixed track record of working as intended or working at all. To be a bit more simple and direct: just give all workers more money still seems to be the far better choice.
Article 2, Quote 3- "The existing EITC needs much improvement. Fraud is a big problem; penalties for it should be stiffened. There should be widespread publicity that workers can receive free and convenient filing help. An annual payment is now the rule; monthly installments would make more sense, since they would discourage people from taking out loans while waiting for their refunds to come through. Dollar amounts should be increased, particularly for those earning the least."
Here, we have lots of examples why any government program is a bad idea and often don't work. He willing admits the program is full of fraud. This is a typical problem with many government programs. And the program as it is now has an annual payment? What brilliant government worker made that up? An annual payment to any low income person is nearly pointless. They can't afford, very literally, to wait a year to get money. Bills are due every month, and you sure can't tell them you will pay them in a year when you get the next check. Finally he mentions that the dollar amounts are low. Again, government programs at their worst.
So, as you earn more through work, the government reduces your EITC check. Tell me again how this is not a disincentive to work. It sounds exactly like how unemployment “works” today. Just make a token effort at applying for a job (that you really don’t want), and you can stay home and collect your unemployment check for a year or more. It may not be as much as you’d get by working, but on the other hand, you can stay home (with no commuting costs).
With EITC increases, the people who pay federal taxes foot the bill – so, just one more method of income redistribution from a government that is already in significant economic deficits.
Article 2, Quotes 3 and 4- " this widening gap is an inevitable consequence of an advanced market-based economy. " and "It is simply a consequence of an economic engine that constantly requires more high-order talents while reducing the need for commodity-like tasks."
Well, the article sure takes a strange turn here. For some reason it's saying all jobs must be high order or something? So stop pretending that anyone who wants to work can earn a living that
provides a suitable standard of living. There are currently more than a
dozen big cities in this country that require a family to earn over
$80,000 a year, just to exceed the poverty line.
Do you know how many full time jobs you’d have to work, at $10 an hour just to keep your head above water?
Warren Buffett says nothing, writes nothing, does nothing, unless it is
good for Warren Buffet. This guy is a gazzilioaire, how? By doing what’s
best for himself, that’s how. Explain why exactly are we listening to
this man?
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