Buffett: Earned Income Tax Credit Best Way To Combat Inequality

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Legendary investor Warren Buffett, the third richest person in the world, argues that the best way to address income inequality is through the Earned Income Tax Credit.

H/T Dataroma

Warren Buffett Argues Best Way To Address Income Inequality Is Through Earned Income Tax Credit

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Transcript

Income inequality, wealth inequality, you've talked about the Earned Income Tax Credit. Is there more to it than that. Should we adjust tax policy. It seems to be going the other way right now.

Well is going the other way. But I think I think I think the Earned Income Tax Credit. Is the best way. To put money in the pockets of people that don't fit well into the market system. But there are perfectly decent citizens and that have made a good bit of the success. Some of the like bad Berkshire something possible it wouldn't have happened without the America we have. And. If you go back. Go back 200 years and we're all working out 80 percent of us are working on farms. The person that's the best at that they're working in that farm. Whatever it may be. Is worth maybe. Twice the ones of the worst. I mean that's the difference between super talent and no talent in the farm economy picking cotton or whatever it may be. Now if you're the best. Middleweight fighter in the world you may get 20 or 30 million dollars. And and if you are just a good citizen raising nice kids help in the neighborhood and everything else but you don't have market related skills. You'd be you'd be good on that farm still and you would be earning something comparable to most of the people around you. But you don't have something as it gets more and more specialized and it's going to continue to get more specialized. You want two things for that person. You want them have a decent life. I mean they live in a country with 60000 of GDP per person. You want them that you want them to have a decent life and they can. As well. I also think you want them to have a feeling of accomplishment. So you wanted to have a job assuming that they're not handicapped in something you want them to have a job. But the minimum wage would be one way to say well we're make sure that they have enough money in their pocket. But that's got a lot of effects and disturbing the market system. They just need more cash. That they don't need a higher wage and more cash in their pocket. And the government a relatively low cost cutting provide a decent living for anybody that's living that's working 40 hours a week and has a couple of children and we've gone in that direction. And it's sort of bipartisan. And yeah I find both Republicans and Democrats for it. I think it would be better not to have one annual payment that they get it monthly. And I think there are various things you could do but you want it you want them to feel part of the system and you want to get them have them get. As more and more of these golden eggs are laid. You want them to get good get a little more of their share.

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