Why Buffett’s plan to tax the rich won’t fix the debt

The chattering class is agape over an op-ed in The New York Times on August 14, written by a billionaire, for billionaires, and about billionaires. The op-ed was penned by investment legend Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, and one of the richest individuals on the planet. Buffett is said to be worth about $47 billion, virtually all of it already beyond the reach of the tax man.

In the op-ed, Buffett calls for higher taxes from the rich, to ostensibly bridge the massive U.S. debt gap, which stands at $14.3 trillion this month. But that’s one bridge that could stand too far – even if Uncle Sam went sifting through the Bottega Veneta wallets of every millionaire in the country.

More on that in a moment, but according to the U.S. debt clock, the gap between surplus and debt is widening – and then some. The estimated population of the U.S. is 311,130,956, meaning each citizen’s share of that debt is $46,932.73.

Full story: Why Buffett’s Plan To Tax the Rich Won’t Fix the Debt | Moneyland | TIME.com.