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Forget Taxes, Warren Buffett Says. The Real Problem Is Health Care. - The New York Times

posted onMay 9, 2017
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Article snippet: OMAHA — “The tax system is not crippling our business around the world.” That was Berkshire Hathaway, over the weekend at the company’s annual meeting, known as “Woodstock for capitalists.” Mr. Buffett, in a remarkably blunt and pointed remark, implicitly rebuked his fellow chief executives, who have been lobbying the Trump administration and Washington lawmakers to lower corporate taxes. In truth, Mr. Buffett said, a specter much more sinister than corporate taxes is looming over American businesses: health care costs. And chief executives who have been maniacally focused on seeking relief from their tax bills would be smart to shift their attention to these costs, which are swelling and swallowing their profits. It was clarifying to hear Mr. Buffett frame things this way. The need for corporate tax relief has become the lodestar of the corner office, with C.E.O.s rhapsodizing over President Trump’s plan to try to stimulate growth by cutting tax rates for businesses. But as Mr. Buffett pointed out, these chief executives are missing the bigger issue — the one that should be their Holy Grail. As a percentage of our Medicaid — is rising at an alarming rate. And Corporate America pays a big (and growing) chunk of the bill. We’re not talking about the cost of health insurance, which is a fraction of the overall cost. Today’s corporate tax rates, Mr. Buffett seemed to suggest, are a distraction, not a true impediment to growth. “If you go back to 1960 or thereabouts,... Link to the full article to read more

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