The Santelli Slam

President Obama, unable to run his campaign on the merits of his first term since it has been nothing short of abysmal, has resorted to tactics unbecoming the Grinch. Obama is attacking anybody and everybody, but perhaps the worst aspect of his antics is his economic commentary surrounding what is known as "The Buffett Rule".

Generally speaking, President Obama indicates that Mr. Buffett pays less taxes than his secretary, which simply is not the case. It has been reported that Mr. Buffett's secretary does not make enough annual salary to reach the 25% bracket; therefore, she pays taxes at the 15% rate. Mr. Buffett, provided he makes a salary over approximately $150,000, pays 25% minimum on his income, which is more than his secretary. It should be noted that Buffett makes the majority of his income on dividends from his investments, including his company Berkshire Hathaway, and dividends are taxed at 15%, equal to his secretary.

President Obama is not being square with the American people when he misrepresents the facts in such a deceitful way. Most Americans are not shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway and do not engage in reviewing the annual report and therefore, fail to recognize the lies being told them. It is noted I am a longtime Berkshire Hathaway shareholder and read the annual reports.
The fine editorial page at Investors Business Daily examines this mess further.

Imagine we did hit the most wealthy with additional taxes in an effort to force them to "pay their fair share". Where would that get us? CNBC's Rick Santelli, father of the TEA Party, gives us an earful from his perch at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.



The entire argument Obama is presenting to the American people on this subject is incorrect, and he is well aware of it. This speak volumes about his character, since America is on the precipice of financial disaster. Obama's actions tell us he is much more concerned about being re-elected than solving the critical economic issues of our time.

Hitting the extremely wealthy with a heavier tax burden will not solve problems, instead creating a host of them. If taxed a higher rate, these folks (investors) will not be incentivized to earn more and will invest and spend less; therefore, creating less commerce which in turn results in less tax revenue for Uncle Sam and hurts those Obama claims he is attempting to assist. As Santelli points out, the impact on solving the massive debt issues would hardly be measurable.
This whole level of discussion is nothing more than a campaign gimmick, one that divides our citizens in class warfare over a false premise. With our country in such great economic peril, I find these actions by our President and his surrogates nothing short of disgraceful.