While politicians, economists and activists are concerned about income inequality in the United States, billionaire CEO Warren Buffett has offered the real reason why he believes the wealth gap has widened.
The Berkshire Hathaway boss has a net worth of $135 billion and is one of the most successful entrepreneurs and investors of all time.
He has often presented himself as a friendlier CEO than many, openly stating through his company that he would be happy to pay more federal income taxes. Buffett has even suggested that if corporations like his actually paid his share, no American would ever pay “a penny in federal tax.”
According to the CensusIn 2022, income inequality decreased for the first time since 2007, but the haves and have-nots remain far apart and homelessness rates are rising in cities across the country.
Buffett, however, insists that the rich getting richer is not responsible for rising wealth inequality, but he offers a different reasoning, with a warning for those who fail to adapt to the current American economy.
While politicians, economists and activists are concerned about income inequality in the United States, billionaire CEO Warren Buffett has offered the real reason why he believes the wealth gap has widened.
Buffett believes these numbers are simply a result of the US economic system.
“This widening gap is an inevitable consequence of an advanced market economy,” he wrote in the Wall Street Journal.
He also refused to give in to the idea from far-left progressives that the rich are responsible for this gap.
“There is no conspiracy behind this depressing fact: the poor are not poor because the rich are rich, nor are the rich unworthy. Most of them have contributed to the well-being of the United States with brilliant innovations or with their management expertise” , he claimed.
He says the market has recently rewarded “people with specialized talents” rather than a broad-based labor market.
Those who can provide what the market needs are doing so even more than in the past, while those who cannot are left behind.
“A couple hundred years ago it was an agrarian economy,” he said.
‘It’s very difficult, you know, to get twenty times the wealth of another person for having been a little better farmer. But if you are better at some skills now, you can become incredibly rich at a very young age… You can capitalize on the value of an idea. And so wealth moves in a big way, even in advance.’
The Berkshire Hathaway boss has a net worth of $135 billion and is one of the most successful entrepreneurs and investors of all time.
According to the Census, income inequality declined for the first time since 2007 in 2022, but the gap between the haves and have-nots remains wide and homelessness rates are rising in cities across the country.
Buffett has warned workers that there is now a “mismatch” between what top jobs require and what the skill set of the average American requires.
“It’s simply a consequence of an economic engine that constantly requires more high-level talent while simultaneously reducing the need for commodity-like tasks.”
He says that “a lot of people” will be left behind because of these changes, according to Yahoo Finance.
Buffett says the solution is to make sure good jobs pay well and that leaders in Washington do nothing to change the system.
“First of all, we should want, in our wealthy society, that every person who is willing to work receives an income that provides a decent lifestyle,” he said.
“Second, any plan to achieve this must not distort our market system, the key element necessary for growth and prosperity,” he wrote.
Ultimately, he believes the best advice he can give is to “bet on America.”
‘They should be willing to bet on America… They should keep buying, buying, buying a little bit of America as they go. And in 30 or 40 years they will have a lot of money,” he told PBS.
Buffett believes these figures are simply a result of the US economic system.
Buffett has said that the key to his success is his ability to prioritize and use his time wisely, and that is the background to the seemingly controversial quote.
But being able to say “no” to people and opportunities that don’t directly benefit personal or professional growth is the best way to make the most of limited time.
However, with homelessness rates as they are currently under Joe Biden, the wealth gap is likely to widen further.
The homeless population across the United States has hit an all-time high under the Biden administration after declining steadily for 17 years, new data shows.
On a single night in 2023, 653,104 people were homeless, a 12 percent increase from the previous year, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Annual Homeless Assessment Report.
That’s the highest the population has been since the point-in-time count began in 2007, although the count was skipped in 2020-2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The homeless epidemic has reached an all-time high, fueled by crime, unemployment, the drug crisis and skyrocketing rents, leaving hundreds of thousands of Americans living on the streets.
The surge has come since Biden took office as Americans have also had to deal with crippling inflation and a housing market that has many feeling squeezed.
The Biden administration has announced several programs to help curb the growth of the homeless population. Two weeks ago, the administration announced plans to help eight states and Washington, D.C., “unlock critical resources to reduce homelessness through health-related social needs, such as housing-related services.”
That includes plans to offer to pay rent under a new $1.5 billion Medicaid pilot program.
So far, however, Biden’s programs have done little to curb the rapid growth of homelessness across the United States.
