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If Warren Buffet believes people with the "short straw" need help, why doesn't he just give away his money to individual people in less comfortable circumstance

If Warren Buffet believes people with the "short straw" need help, why doesn't he just give away his money to individual people in less comfortable circumstances? Edit: I'm not talking about "forming a charity". I'm talking about just giving actual money to actual individuals.

nunez 2y ago
I believe he has been doing that. He started a pledge to donate almost all of his net worth to charities some time ago.
jmclnx 2y ago
He also wants the return of the 90% tax rate for the extreme rich, similar to what we had before the GOP started to steal from the working class.
- BrenBarn 2y ago
  Is he giving his money in a way that materially advances that goal?
  - JKCalhoun 2y ago
    How would he do that?
    - BrenBarn 2y ago
      For instance, not just make offhand comments about taxation, but form a political group that pushes for higher taxes the same way other shadowy political groups push against them.
- RickJWagner 2y ago
  I find the swipe at the GOP odd. Leading Democrats seem to hate taxes as much as anybody. ( One of the Biden family’s legal troubles was tax evasion. ). Celebrity mouthpieces from Hollywood are known to take measures to minimize taxes, I.e. Bruce Springsteen calling his mansion a tomato farm. Pols themselves jump through hoops like John Kerry parking his yacht across state lines to minimize taxes. I don’t see much practical difference in behaviors, really.
  - BrenBarn 2y ago
    There's a difference between taking action to minimize your personal taxes and taking action to shape overall tax policy. The examples you give are the former. On the policy side, while it's true that both parties have been reluctant to raise taxes, I think it's clear that since the Reagan era, it's Republicans who have moved most aggressively to lower taxes, and in ways that disproportionately lower the taxes of the wealthy.
richardw 2y ago
“ More than 99% of my wealth will go to philanthropy during my lifetime or at death.” https://givingpledge.org/pledger?pledgerId=177 https://givingpledge.org/pledger?pledgerId=177 I think he’s already given away more than 50% of his Berkshire holdings.
pan69 2y ago
I'm pretty sure he's doing that. The problem is that if you were to give away all your money and the underlying system that creates poor people doesn't change, well, then giving away all your money is noble but kinda pointless since there will always be a next batch of poor people who need help.
- BrenBarn 2y ago
  I don't see that the stuff he's given his money to (e.g., the Gates Foundation) is really doing much to change that underlying system. On the contrary, it's all working comfortably within that system.
aaplok 2y ago
> why doesn't he just give away his money to individual people in less comfortable circumstances? Because he is advocating systemic changes. He may very well also give money away to people in need (it seems he does), but this would not actually address the issues he is alluding to here since it would not change the system. Hence there is no value for him to bring it up here.
tim333 2y ago
>why doesn't he just give away his money to individual people in less comfortable circumstances? How many people are there in less comfortable circumstances? 100m? 1bn? Buffett personally doesn't have the time to go handing money to everyone. He is, probably sensibly, a believer in the conventional system in functional countries - taxes get paid to the government which then has policies to help the less well off.

nunez 2y ago

I believe he has been doing that. He started a pledge to donate almost all of his net worth to charities some time ago.

jmclnx 2y ago

He also wants the return of the 90% tax rate for the extreme rich, similar to what we had before the GOP started to steal from the working class.

BrenBarn 2y ago
Is he giving his money in a way that materially advances that goal?
- JKCalhoun 2y ago
  How would he do that?
  - BrenBarn 2y ago
    For instance, not just make offhand comments about taxation, but form a political group that pushes for higher taxes the same way other shadowy political groups push against them.
RickJWagner 2y ago
I find the swipe at the GOP odd. Leading Democrats seem to hate taxes as much as anybody. ( One of the Biden family’s legal troubles was tax evasion. ). Celebrity mouthpieces from Hollywood are known to take measures to minimize taxes, I.e. Bruce Springsteen calling his mansion a tomato farm. Pols themselves jump through hoops like John Kerry parking his yacht across state lines to minimize taxes. I don’t see much practical difference in behaviors, really.
- BrenBarn 2y ago
  There's a difference between taking action to minimize your personal taxes and taking action to shape overall tax policy. The examples you give are the former. On the policy side, while it's true that both parties have been reluctant to raise taxes, I think it's clear that since the Reagan era, it's Republicans who have moved most aggressively to lower taxes, and in ways that disproportionately lower the taxes of the wealthy.

richardw 2y ago

“ More than 99% of my wealth will go to philanthropy during my lifetime or at death.” https://givingpledge.org/pledger?pledgerId=177 https://givingpledge.org/pledger?pledgerId=177 I think he’s already given away more than 50% of his Berkshire holdings.

pan69 2y ago

I'm pretty sure he's doing that. The problem is that if you were to give away all your money and the underlying system that creates poor people doesn't change, well, then giving away all your money is noble but kinda pointless since there will always be a next batch of poor people who need help.

BrenBarn 2y ago
I don't see that the stuff he's given his money to (e.g., the Gates Foundation) is really doing much to change that underlying system. On the contrary, it's all working comfortably within that system.

aaplok 2y ago

> why doesn't he just give away his money to individual people in less comfortable circumstances? Because he is advocating systemic changes. He may very well also give money away to people in need (it seems he does), but this would not actually address the issues he is alluding to here since it would not change the system. Hence there is no value for him to bring it up here.

tim333 2y ago

>why doesn't he just give away his money to individual people in less comfortable circumstances? How many people are there in less comfortable circumstances? 100m? 1bn? Buffett personally doesn't have the time to go handing money to everyone. He is, probably sensibly, a believer in the conventional system in functional countries - taxes get paid to the government which then has policies to help the less well off.