June 28, 2006
Givin' It Away
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Page and TCSDaily have both taken some whacks at Warren Buffett for fervently supporting the death tax while evading it for his own fortune.
Mr. Buffett can do what he chooses, indeed that's the best benefit of having billions, is it not? I think he has the "lock the door behind me" mentality that has infected America's wealthy for centuries. I'll look the other way on that, but does anybody believe they'll do half as much good giving away $30 Billion than he did making it? I suppose some believe that, but they're in pretty short supply around ThreeSources.
The WSJ Ed Page goes a little deeper today. They mention the death tax, but also discuss the focus of the foundation and the probability of keeping it after the Gateses and Buffetts have become eligible to pay estate taxes.
Which is all the more reason to watch how well the two men now deploy their gifts. We can't think of two people less in need of our two cents than Messrs. Buffett and Gates. But since giving free advice is our business, we'd suggest that they put at least a smidgen of their money back into strengthening the foundations of the free-market system that has allowed them to become so fabulously rich. There's something to be said for reinvesting in the moral capital of a free society and trying to sustain and export free-enterprise policies.Capitalism has done very well not just by Mr. Buffett but also by the world's poor, as several hundred million Chinese and Indians might attest. African nations in particular need property rights and a rule of law as badly as they need vaccines. On that score we were encouraged by a report this week that the Gateses thanked Mr. Buffett for his gift by presenting him with a book from their personal library: Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations."
That's an auspicious start, but I am still not hopeful.
UPDATE: I forgot to lnk to another great post from Josh at Everyday Economist.