The Buffett Rule

The Buffett Rule

The White House

In a 2011 interview, billionaire investor Warren Buffett decried tax loopholes that allow him, because of his investment income, to pay a lower effective tax rate than his secretary, and he advocated changes to tax policy that would require the superrich (or the 1 percent, as they would come to be known in the parlance of the Occupy Wall Street movement) to pay more of their income in taxes. Indeed, this idea became a pillar of the Occupy Wall Street movement, and, in late 2011, the White House proposed the “Buffett Rule,” which would require a minimum tax rate of 30 percent for people earning one million dollars or more a year. As part of the unveiling of the Buffett Rule, the White House released the video included here, a simplified (and partisan) explanation of exactly what the Buffett Rule proposes. Like Walter Benn Michaels does in “The Trouble with Diversity” (p. 673), the Buffett Rule makes a case that income inequality is stalling American progress.

The White House

The Reader’s Presence

After watching The Buffett Rule, consider the questions below. Then “submit” your responses.

Question 1.1

1. This video was created by the White House to publicize a White House proposal and, therefore, is careful to avoid addressing the criticism introduced by the Right. What criticisms might this video overlook? What might a more balanced video that takes into account both sides of the debate look like?

Question 1.2

2. The American tax code is notoriously difficult for most of us to understand. How does this video attempt to simplify a complex code into something that the general public can understand and absorb? Do you think the video is effective? Why or why not?

Question 1.3

3. In what ways is this White House video also a political video? That is, how does a proposal to change part of the tax code also reflect a larger political message? Do you agree with this message? Why or why not?