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 galitarianism
is a dimwit's doctrine at the best of times, but when we hear it
from the very rich, it becomes simply
grotesque.
With Marie Antoinette it took the form of sheep. She liked to dress
up in supposedly rustic clothes and, surrounded by groveling courtiers
and gamboling lambs, would pretend that she was a shepherdess. Outside
the palace grounds real farm workers lived in real poverty, but
their fate was, naturally, of no concern to the queen of France.
Now, Warren Buffett is no Marie Antoinette. There are no lambs in
his life. Instead, the Sage of Omaha prefers to demonstrate his
egalitarianism by supporting grave robbing.
Surrounded by groveling accountants and gamboling leftists, the
"aw shucks" billionaire has become a leader of a new campaign to
preserve the estate tax. Meanwhile, beyond the Buffett zone of IRS-exempt
foundations and well-paid tax lawyers, the levy on dying continues
to march onward.
The technical arguments against the estate tax are examined elsewhere
in NRO, but it is may be worth taking a closer look at those wealthy
folks who are spearheading the latest effort to defend it. The centerpiece
of their campaign is a petition drive being organized by Bill Gates's
father and the Boston-based lobby group, United for a Fair Economy.
UFE is, according to the New York Times, a "non-partisan"
organization. But a quick glance at the UFE
website reveals a fairly standard left-wing agenda enlivened
by ancillary touches of the absurd that are only to be expected
from a body funded by the likes of Resist, the Agape Foundation,
and the "Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock."
To get an idea of what UFE really stands for, check out its list
of recent "accomplishments." These have included the production
of "Applying Tzedek to the Economy" (a modification, in case you
were wondering, of UFE's "core workshop"), collaborating with the
education department of the AFL-CIO, and, unsurprisingly, campaigning
against free trade.
Seattle-based Gates Sr. must have been thrilled to see his UFE chums
when they came to his hometown for the WTO summit. They "ran teach-ins,
coordinated protests and brought smiles to people's faces with [their]
street theater antics." Did Gates the Elder invite his son along
to share in the fun? One UFE correspondent notes that the Seattle
protests — regarded by the rest of the world as a form of vicious
mob rule — were, in fact, a "smashing" success — "[M]uch
more hopelessness and isolation was broken in Seattle than glass."
Oh yes, did I mention that gifts to UFE are, ahem, tax-deductible?
In 2000, UFE campaigned to support Bill Clinton's veto of estate-tax
repeal, a precursor to this year's effort. Much of last year's campaign
was organized through one of UFE's affiliates, the pompously named
"Responsible Wealth." RW targets as potential members those people
with an annual household income of more than $145,000 or assets
in excess of $650,000. There is no truth in the rumor that they
also recruit turkeys for Thanksgiving.
Not the most modest of organizations, RW likes to proclaim that
its 450 members are "leaders in business, community, government,
philanthropy, academia and finance." Who are we to argue? Members
available for media interviews on the estate tax include a stockholder
in a paper mill, an assistant professor at the Rochester Institute
of Technology, and the proprietor of the White Dog Café in Philadelphia.
RW's rhetoric shares the basic UFE approach, but adds the
| “The
only thing more annoying than the petition against the
death tax is its list of signatories.” |
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cringe of the self-hating, yet self-important, wealthy: "As beneficiaries
of economic policies that are tilted in our favor, we feel a responsibility
to speak out and change the system to benefit the common good."
That explains why RW is also opposed to the 1997 capital-gains tax
cut, which might come as a surprise to Mr. Buffett's shareholders/disciples
in Berkshire Hathaway.
As for RW's latest campaign, the text of the new pro-estate tax
petition ran on the op-ed page of last Sunday's New York Times.
As is to be expected of a document carrying the RW logo, it is a
poor, sad piece of collectivist boilerplate. The only thing more
annoying than the petition's text was its list of signatories. There
were the usual suspects, prominent members of the bossy families
that have been hectoring America for a century or so, foundation-protected
Rockefellers, and a Roosevelt or two. Bill Gates, Sr. was there
of course, right at the top, still busily promoting himself on the
back of his son's success. Other grandees on the list included Paul
Newman and Clinton donor Agnes Gund, the Sanka heiress, who is also
the president of MoMA. New York was also ably represented by Democrats
Henry and Edith Everett, a pair of "ardent anti-smoking activists"
whose most entertaining philanthropic moment was the withdrawal
of a gift to the Central Park Children's Zoo, reportedly on the
grounds that the proposed commemorative plaque was too small. (Some
legacies, it seems, do matter.) Finally, of course, there is the
name of the genius billionaire investor with all the wacky political
ideas. Yes, George Soros has signed.
Warren Buffett has not, however. As far as he is concerned, the
petition does not go far enough. Mr. Buffett, the son of a four-term
congressman, is worried, you see, terribly, terribly worried, about
the dangers of a society where success depends on family rather
than on merit, and he wants us all to know it. It is quite unfair
to suggest that there is any contradiction between this view and
his fundraising for Mrs. Clinton's Senate campaign. Some unkind
people have suggested that the only reason that the former First
Lady was in a position to run was because her husband was in the
White House — in other words, because of her family. Mr. Buffett
must have known better. Indeed, he was so enthusiastic a supporter
that he told one gathering that he would have liked to have hired
her himself. She had everything it took, he said, including, he
stressed, "integrity".
And that tells you all you need to know about the political judgment
of Warren Buffett and the campaign to preserve the estate tax.
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