Berkshire Hathaway CEO and billionaire Warren Buffett delivered condemning remarks about President Trump's new health care plan that passed the House of Representative last Thursday. It's the Trump administration's first step towards repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
On Saturday tens of thousands of investors attended an annual Berkshire Hathaway event in Omaha, Nebraska. It is known as the "Woodstock of capitalism," according to the New York Times. Buffett said that Trump's new health care plan is "a huge tax cut for guys like me." He also said that rising health care costs are what's holding back economic growth, not high taxes.
"Medical costs are the tapeworm of American economic competitiveness," Buffett said. Also adding, "the tax system is not crippling our business around the world." Had the new law been in effect, Buffett said his taxes would have gone down 17 percent last year.
"Buffett pointed out corporate tax payments as a percentage of GDP have shrunk from 4% in 1960 to just 2% now. On the other hand, medical costs have ballooned from 5% of GDP to 17% of GDP currently," Business Insider reported.
Buffett also argued that when Wells Fargo turned the other way when fraudulent accounts had been created, it only continued to contribute to the toxic culture, according to the Times. "The moment the C.E.O. heard about it, he had to act. He didn’t," Buffett said.
“I think it’s absolutely essential to America that we become more productive, because that’s the only way we increase consumption per capita," he added.
On Sunday Tom Price, President Trump's health and human services secretary, defended the new legislation and insisted there would be no cuts to Medicaid, despite the Congressional Budget Office claiming $880 billion would be gutted from the program. House Speaker Paul Ryan also came to the defense of the bill.
Shares