The staggering hypocrisy of Warren Buffett
Somehow, Warren Buffett believes that the federal government should cover all depositors, no matter how rich they are, even though the FDIC specifically states that it covers only $250,000, and that is what it charges insurance premiums on. Underwriting risks seems to be a foreign concept to Buffett.
Warren Buffett said Saturday that it would have been "catastrophic" to let any Silicon Valley Bank depositors lose their money when regulators seized the troubled California lender.
The fall of Silicon Valley Bank on March 10 triggered panic across the financial system. In a bid to restore calm, US officials made the controversial decision to protect all depositors at the failed institution even if their accounts were above the $250,000 limit insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Therefore, I believe that Buffett should cover all losses for people insured by Geico, which is 100% owned by Berkshire Hathaway, no matter what limits the policies have. I am sure that would be acceptable to him, the shareholders, and the regulators. After all, it is catastrophic for the insured when they have to pay some of their own losses.
Geico is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, which is led by well-known investor Warren Buffet. Warren Buffett has owned shares of Geico stock since 1951, and Geico became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway in 1996.
Geico is the second largest auto insurer in the U.S. providing coverage for more than 28 million vehicles and over 17 million auto policy holders. Originally specializing in insurance for government workers, Geico has since expanded their customer base to offer affordable insurance rates in all 50 states.
Leftists somehow believe that the government has unlimited funds. Buffett also does everything to reduce his tax bill while lecturing others that they should pay more. For example, Berkshire Hathaway pays a zero dividend rate no matter how much excess cash it has so he doesn't get double-taxed. Then he donates stock at current value, instead of his cost, in order to reduce his tax. It is a huge subsidy that helps only the rich. Why doesn't he sell the stock, pay the capital gains tax, and donate the excess if he wants to pay more?
The answer is, he doesn't really want to pay more. It is just a talking point as they campaign for Democrats.
Image: Warren Buffett. Credit: Fortune Live Media via Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.