Congressman Takes Buffett Up On His Offer, Buffett Will Write The Treasury A $49,000 Check

Business Insider ^ | 01/18/2012 | Ben Walsh

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Warren Buffett has written his first check to the U.S. Treasury since announcing his pledge to match Republican donations to pay down the national debt a week ago.

Carol Loomis, Fortune's senior editor-at-large and long-time friend of Buffett's, reports that the Omaha investor received a letter from Congressman Scott Rigell of Virginia (pictured below).

In it, Rigell details the $49,000 he had donated to Treasury in total in 2011 and 2012 and asks Buffett to match both (full letter is below).

Buffett agreed (full letter below).

Lest we raise your hopes that the national debt is over as an issue, current U.S. debt stands at approximately $15.2 trillion.

Apologies, but it's official policy that there can be no completely feel-good stories about U.S. debt.

Full letter from Congressman Scott Rigell:

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[SaxxonWoods]

Great, Warren. Only about $1 billion to go and you will cover your unpaid back taxes.

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One poster made an accurate observation :

Warren Buffet has a (generous) net worth of 40 billion right? You realize that a trillion is 1000 billion right? You realize the US is running up a bill of over 100 billion a month right? You realize that if you somehow got everyone to donate the 15.2 trillion in debt the US has you would be back in the same shape we are now within 2 decades.

What Buffet and Rigell are doing now is just mere FEEL-GOOD SYMBOLISM that does nothing to tackle the most fundamental problem -— UNRESTRAINED SPENDING ON THE PART OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

[JimRed]

OK, I’ll chip in a nickel, which will be proportionately the same as Buffet’s $49k based on our relative wealth!

[silverleaf]

Challenge Buffet to similarly match democrat donations toward the debt

pretty safe bet he can take

[newzjunkey]

Um... since Rigell was doing this without fanfare, it’s not really fair to him to call it “feel-good symbolism.” It is meaningless in the total debt picture? Sure but it’s a beginning. You also arrogantly act as if Rigell doesn’t make efforts to reign in spending with his votes.

[snowsislander]

Both letters are well written, and express laudable sentiments.

Until we retake the Senate, it will be very hard to stop the massive flood of red ink. Sadly, even when the Republicans ran everything, they were spendthrifts who ran deficits, although nothing near the mad river of red ink the Democrats have plagued us with.

We need a Congress where both houses are willing not only to cut the budget, but cut it deeply enough to run a surplus in order reduce this horrendous debt incurred during the Kenyan Clown's maladministration.