Posted on 08/02/2016 9:07:47 AM PDT by LRoggy
Warren Buffett, Hypocrite
Yesterday’s media circus performance by Warren Buffett has shown him to be not worthy of the exalted platform he has been elevated to by far too many in society. It’s time to call him out for it.
Late in 2015 Salon writer David Dayen took him to task concerning the business practices of a number of Berkshire Hathaway subsidiaries and they bear noting:
http://www.salon.com/2015/12/29/warren_buffett_is_a_phony_every_liberals_favorite_billionaire_is_actually_cut_throat_not_cuddly/
One late paragraph in particular stands out:
Warren Buffett may be a charming guy in person. The spectacle of a billionaire who drinks Coke and eats potato sticks every day is surefire media catnip. But Buffett’s drive for profit comes at the direct expense of key elements of the Democratic coalition, from environmentalists to minorities. Yet Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and the DNC wear his endorsement as a badge of honor. This may not be toxic right now, but it’s only a matter of time if the headlines pile up.
And then there is this gem:
Buffett does not even follow his own populist guidelines on taxes that national Democrats love to parrot. His business model of buying companies and canceling their dividends shields most of his net worth from taxable income. Berkshire Hathaway’s deferred tax liabilities total around $61 billion, money owed but not yet paid to the government. He has used stock splits to buy companies without paying taxes on the acquisition, like the 2014 purchase of Duracell, which saved him $1 billion. And Buffett provided financing to a high-profile merger between Burger King and Tim Hortons, done at least in part to save on taxes, even if it wasn’t a classic “inversion” deal to move a corporate headquarters overseas.
I suggest readers read the entire thing.
As for Mr. Buffett himself, the public persona, here is this beauty from CNBC.Com, from March 15th OF THIS YEAR, when talking about HOW to run a company, entitled Warren Buffett's 9 Key Rules For Running A Business:
9. Keep your reputation. In Buffett's mind, perhaps the most important piece of advice for businesses, and for everyone else, is to maintain a sterling reputation for honesty by never doing something you wouldn't want to see reported on the front page of your local newspaper. After taking control of Salomon in the wake of a major 1991 scandal at the financial firm, he famously told a Congressional panel that he had a simple message for employees: "Lose money for the firm and I will be understanding. Lose a shred of reputation for the firm, and I will be ruthless." As he put it in one of his most-often quoted sayings: "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently."
Unless of course, you are running a political campaign.
Then it is okay.
I’ve got some more Buffett quotes too . . .
https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/756.Warren_Buffett
“Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if you don’t have the first, the other two will kill you. You think about it; it’s true. If you hire somebody without [integrity], you really want them to be dumb and lazy.” ― Warren Buffett
And the most damning one of all.
“Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing” ― Warren Buffett
Like who to support for President.
Warren, we don’t expect you to endorse a Republican.
But don’t try to kid us into thinking Hillary Clinton meets your own publicly stated expectations in a leader.
Warren Buffett is about to find out the hard way that life CAN imitate art . . .
Have fun finding your way out of the Briar Patch Warren.
Phony.
Q - Why are the stinkin’ rich people always in favor of huge tax increases?
A - Because THEY have their money already.
He’s a rich pig along with cuban, bezos, Ellison and the whole rest of the billionaire cabal.
Communism for thee but not for me.
Rich people love socialism, it keeps out the competition.
Hey, give the man a break. He bought her, he has to back her.
Plus how is he going to keep hiding his money from the government.
I have a relative that works for one of his companies. No, not Dairy Queen.
The gist is that he treats his employees better than a lot of companies.
Capitalism - The Rich Become Powerful
Socialism - The Powerful Become Rich
Warren Buffett plays the “country cousin” routine very well. I don’t blame him - he’s got great wealth, and when you have great wealth, you are a target. So he has sought out the statist, progressive, activist party for support - because he fears them more.
Trump should go after Buffett. He’s a PERFECT PR target for Trump. He’s not a “gold star” family. Buffett is a very rich guy who is now slyly playing politics for his own benefit. Independents and Bernie supporters will love it.
I lost all respect for Buffett in 2008. HIs loans to GE and investment in Goldman Sachs were PURE crony-capitalism. His “investments” were clearly front-running expected bailouts by TARP and the Federal Reserve. Fed.gov and our elites were happy to have his public “vote of confidence” in the financial system at the time as well. Off the top of my head - Berkshire made something like $5 billion off his Goldman Sachs “investment.”
Its also very clear that Buffetts railroads benefit greatly by the phony environmentalism behind the opposition to Keystone and Fracking.
Sounds about right.
I keep getting the impending feeling that we might have to do more than just win an election to get the country back.
I hope I’m really wrong.
But, like I said before, quoting that Russian official, “America has gone mad and it’s trying to take the world with it!!”
A russian has to say what many in the US do not realize.
Yep. It won’t make a dent of a difference to them. And they don’t believe that there is room at the top for peasants who manage to scrape their way up there..
If I knew what Hillary had promised him in exchange for his support, I could stand to make some money.
I will be watching for the Brinks truck bringing their money to their funerals-—Traitors to my country, every one of them
BH Media owns 10 newspapers.
Do you suppose they are influenced to lean toward Hillary?
Warren on TV in Omaha: Says he will personally take 10 people who would have trouble going to vote in District 2 (the only dem-leaning district in the state) to the polls in November and challenged others to do the same.
On the plus side, he’s a great songwriter for the drunk college crowd...Margaritaville, Cheesburger in Paradise....oh, wait, wrong Buffet. Never mind.
Another billionaire bearing the badge of leftism to keep the rabble away from his gates, and, ultimately, to subdue it.
Senility.
The number one contributor to Hillary Clinton, thus far ($9 million donated) is Israeli American Haim Saban (net worth estimated at $3.6 billion). Saban is founder and Board Chairman of Saban Capital Group. In 2006 Saban purchased Univision for $13.7 billion. Univision is the largest Spanish speaking media network in the U.S.
The Orifice of Omaha.
From today’s forbes.com:
Warren Buffett went at Donald Trump with gusto yesterday at a rally at Omaha, deriding him for his attacks on the family of a deceased Iraq War hero, his business track record and his refusal to release his tax returns, asking, with a nod to the McCarthy hearing of the 1950s: “Have you no decency, sir?”
So has Buffett ever met Trump?
I asked him that at our annual lunch talk at the Forbes 400 Summit on Philanthropy, which took place in June 8th in New York.
“I’ve never met him, never talked with him.”
But at the beginning of the year, there was almost a moment. Trump had landed in Omaha – which is across the river from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, ahead of the February 1st Iowa primary.
“My assistant mid-afternoon got a call,” Buffett recalled. “And a woman said, ‘I’m Donald Trump’s assistant, and we’re driving by your office right now.’ ”
“And my assistant said, ‘Well, that’s very nice, and have a good time in Omaha.’”
The net result, said Buffett: “I gave her a raise.”
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