风萧萧_Frank
以文会友
事实核查：巴菲特确实提出了在赤字问题上向国会求助的计划
https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/reason/2013/04/12/fact-check-buffett-did-float-plan-lean-congress-over-deficit/15832154007/
卡罗尔·法德
时代联盟读者想知道：
沃伦·巴菲特是否真的提出了一项新的宪法修正案来解决国会问题，其中一项建议是，只要赤字超过国内生产总值的3%，所有现任国会议员都将没有资格连任？
奥马哈先知巴菲特确实说过这样的话，但那是在一次电视采访中，而不是任何严肃的宪法修正案提案。
谈论预算赤字和提高债务上限并不是什么新鲜事。 据 Snopes.com 报道，早在 2011 年 7 月，政客们就在讨论如何为政府提供资金——特别是因为避免政府关门的最后期限是 8 月 2 日。
请记住，我们上个月刚刚过了同样的截止日期。不管怎样，国会议员正在闭门开会，以敲定一项协议，媒体报道了不同的意见。
亿万富翁巴菲特于 2011年7月7日接受 CNBC 采访时发表了上述言论。 甚至 CNBC 也将其描述为“不完全严肃（但也不完全开玩笑）”。以下是原话：
"我可以在五分钟内结束赤字。你只需通过一项法律，规定只要赤字超过 GDP 的 3%，所有现任国会议员就没有资格连任。是的。 是的，现在你已经在正确的地方得到了激励措施，对吧？（笑）。” 您可以在 http://tinuurl.com/6xo8yao 观看视频。
这封包含巴菲特名言的病毒式电子邮件接着提出了“2013 年国会改革法案”，据称该法案是拟议的宪法第 28 条修正案。
由于它遵循巴菲特的名言，因此与他有关，但实际上与巴菲特无关。 而且，根据国会图书馆立法数据库 Thomas.gov 的检查，没有国会议员提出任何此类修正案。也没有证据表明它是由任何州政府机构提出的。
据 Snopes.com 和为信息网站 About.com 研究都市传说的特德·埃默里 (Ted Emery) 称，国会改革提案于 2009年10月开始在互联网上流传（巴菲特的名字于2011年添加）。它包含大约在同一时间开始流传的“拟议的第28条修正案”连锁信的大部分文本。
从2009年到2013年，原则没有改变，只是在最新版本中提出了12年的任期限制。 其他提案：议员离开国会时无任期、无养老金； 国会退休基金将立即转入社会保障； 国会可以像所有美国人一样购买自己的退休计划； 成员不能自行投票决定加薪； 会员将不再拥有政府免费提供的健康计划； 国会将平等遵守所有法律； 与过去和现任国会议员的所有合同均无效。
经过搜索，没有发现改革提案的原始来源；Snopes.com 只是将其定义为"基于互联网的政治活动”。而且该文件中存在很多不准确之处。
国会议员不像大学教授那样拥有终身职位； 他们竞选公职。他们已经缴纳了社会保障金，并没有立即获得全额养老金。 他们得不到免费医疗保健。 据《美国新闻与世界报道》的一篇文章称，当这封电子邮件流传开来时，立法者们充满了疑问，不得不向选民解释其中的许多陈述都是不真实的。
这封病毒式传播的电子邮件还表明，在宪法的 27 项修正案中，有 7 项花了一年或更短的时间才成为法律，这一切都是因为公众压力。 据称，巴菲特希望每个收件人将电子邮件转发给至少 20 人，并要求每个人都做同样的事情。 这样，三天之内，美国大多数民众就会收到消息，并施加压力，让这项“改革”成为宪法的一部分。
巴菲特没有发送这封电子邮件，也没有要求收件人转发。
卡罗尔·费德：(904) 359-4635
沃伦·巴菲特有一个“5分钟内结束美国赤字”的天才计划
https://www.thestreet.com/personalities/warren-buffett-has-a-genius-plan-to-end-u-s-deficit-in-5-分钟
这位亿万富翁投资者有一个简单的计划来解决最大的经济问题之一。
作者：耶拿·沃伯顿 2023 年 12 月 5 日
投资传奇人物沃伦·巴菲特以其智慧和易于记忆的俏皮话而闻名。他最著名的名言建议我们“当别人贪婪时要恐惧，当别人恐惧时要贪婪”，被誉为现代市场的最佳投资建议。
但他还有很多其他俏皮话。
沃伦·巴菲特的一些最著名的名言包括：
巴菲特在 93 年的人生中分享了许多有用的花絮，并通过他领导的公司 Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) - 获取免费报告 (BRK.B) - 获取免费报告，拥有约 65 家公司。现在，巴菲特提出了另一条免费而简单的建议，这次是关于美国经济的主题。
巴菲特就美国赤字提出简单建议
美国赤字继续扩大。2022 财年，政府赤字为 1.4 万亿美元。2023年，这一数字将攀升至 1.7万亿美元，比上一年增加3200亿美元（23%）。
两党政策中心写道："收入同比减少4570亿美元（9%），支出减少 830 亿美元（1%）。”“支出受到美联储自 2022 年 10 月以来六次加息的影响，这将联邦基金利率推至 22 年高点 5.25% 至 5.5%，使偿债成本增加1770亿美元（33%）。”
报告指出，随着付款恢复，美联储加息和学生贷款政策的变化是赤字扩大的两个主要原因。
但沃伦·巴菲特有一个简单的方法来阻止不断增加的债务。
它来自 2011 年拍摄的一个片段，当时 CNBC 的贝基·奎克询问这位亿万富翁投资者他会采取什么措施来解决日益严重的问题。 此后，这段视频又重新出现在网上。
“我可以在五分钟内结束赤字。 你只需通过一项法律，规定只要赤字超过 GDP 的 3%，所有现任国会议员就没有资格连任，”他说，
“现在你已经在正确的地方有了激励措施。所以它有能力完成......更有效的威胁就是说，如果你们不能完成它，我们会找其他人 来完成它。
马斯克回应巴菲特的赤字想法
埃隆·马斯克对视频做出了回应，他说："激励措施很重要。当前的系统会激励超支，所以我们就会超支。”
另一位网友在谈到巴菲特的解决方案时写道："这对我有用。让我们也把腐败的参议院也包括在内。”
另一位用户建议："从那时起他们也不应该得到报酬。”
一位人士指出："你还必须让他们没有资格担任说客。”
另一位人士表示："很多事情都可以通过这种方式解决，但不幸的是，问题并不那么容易。如果他们解决了这样的问题，就不再有机会从纳税人那里窃取现金，从而不再有利可图。”
作者：Jena Warburton 是 TheStreet 的高级记者兼编辑。 她的业务涵盖零售、投资、餐饮、银行和金融领域。 耶娜毕业于三一学院，获得美国研究学士学位。
Fact Check: Buffett did float plan to lean on Congress over deficit
Carole Fader
Times-Union readers want to know:
Did Warren Buffett actually propose a new constitutional amendment that would fix Congress, one suggestion of which is that any time there is a deficit of more than 3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product, all sitting members of Congress will be ineligible for re-election?
It's true that Buffett, the Oracle of Omaha, made that statement, but it was in a TV interview, not as any serious constitutional amendment proposal.
Talk about the budget deficit and raising the debt ceiling isn't new. Back in July 2011, according to Snopes.com, politicians were discussing ways to keep the government funded - especially since the deadline to avoid a government shutdown was Aug. 2.
Remember, we just had that same deadline last month. Anyway, Congress members were meeting behind closed doors to hammer out a deal as the media reported various opinions.
Billionaire Buffett gave an interview on July 7, 2011, to CNBC during which he made his statement. Even CNBC describes it as "not entirely serious (but not entirely joking either)." Here is the exact quote: "I could end the deficit in five minutes. You just pass a law that says that any time there's a deficit of more than three percent of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election. Yeah, yeah, now you've got the incentives in the right place, right? (Laughs)." You can view the video at http://tinuurl.com/6xo8yao.
The viral email that contains the Buffett quote goes on to present "The Congressional Reform Act of 2013," which supposedly is a proposed 28th amendment to the Constitution.
Since it follows the Buffett quote, it is linked to him but, in reality, has nothing to do with Buffett. And, according to a check of Thomas.gov, the legislative database of the Library of Congress, no member of Congress has proposed any such amendment. Nor is there evidence that it has been proposed by any state governmental body.
The congressional reform proposal began circulating on the Internet in October 2009 (Buffett's name was added in 2011), according to Snopes.com and Ted Emery, who researches urban legends for the information website About.com. It contains the bulk of the text of the "Proposed 28th Amendment" chain letter that began circulating around the same time.
The tenets haven't changed from 2009 to 2013, except that in the latest version, term limits of 12 years is proposed. The other proposals: no tenure, no pension when members leave Congress; congressional retirement funds would immediately move to Social Security; Congress can buy their own retirement plan just as all Americans do; members cannot vote themselves a pay raise; members will no longer have a health plan provided free by the government; Congress will equally abide by all laws; and all contracts with past and present Congress members are voided.
A search revealed no original source for the reform proposals; Snopes.com just defines it as "Internet-based politicking." And there are a lot of inaccuracies in the document.
Congress members don't have tenure like college professors; they run for office. They already pay into Social Security and are not immediately vested with a full pension. They don't get free health care. When this email makes its rounds, lawmakers are swamped with questions and have to explain to constituents that many of its statements are untrue, according to an article in U.S. News & World Report.
The viral email also suggests that of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven took one year or less to become the law, all because of public pressure. It says that Buffett wants each recipient to forward the email to a minimum of 20 people and ask each of those people to do the same thing. That way, most people in the U.S. will receive the message in three days and exert pressure to make this "reform" part of the Constitution.
Buffett did not send the email and did not ask recipients to pass it on.
Carole Fader: (904) 359-4635
Warren Buffett has a genius plan to 'end U.S. deficit in 5 minutes'
The billionaire investor has a straightforward plan to solving one of the biggest economic issues.
Investing legend Warren Buffett is known for his wisdom and easy to remember quips.
His most famous quote, which advises us to "be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful," is hailed as some of the best investing advice for the modern market.
But he has plenty of other one-liners.
Some of Warren Buffett's most famous quotes include:
And now Buffett is offering up another piece of free and simple advice, this time on the subject of the U.S. economy.
Buffett offers simple advice on U.S. deficit
The U.S. deficit continues to widen. In fiscal year 2022 the government ran a deficit of $1.4 trillion. In 2023 it climbed to $1.7 trillion -- or $320 billion (23%) more than the previous year.
"Revenues decreased by $457 billion (9%) and outlays decreased by $83 billion (1%) year-over-year," the Bipartisan Policy Center writes. "Outlays were impacted by the Federal Reserve’s six interest rate hikes since October 2022, which pushed the federal funds rate to a 22-year high of 5.25% to 5.5%, raising debt servicing costs by $177 billion (33%)."
It cited Fed interest rate hikes and changes in student loan policies, as payments resumed, as two main reasons for the widening deficit.
But Warren Buffett has a simple way to stop the increasing debt.
It comes from a clip taken in 2011, when CNBC's Becky Quick asked the billionaire investor what he might do to solve the growing problem. The clip has since resurfaced online.
“I could end the deficit in five minutes. You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of
Congress are ineligible for reelection," he said,
"Now you've got the incentives in the right place. So it's capable of being done. ... A more effective threat would be just to say, if you guys can't get it done, we'll get some other guys to get it done."
Musk responds to Buffett's deficit idea
Elon Musk responded to the video, saying, "Incentives matter. The current system incentivizes overspending, so we get overspending."
"Works for me. And let’s include the corrupt senate too," another wrote about Buffett's solution.
"Nor should they be paid from that point on," another user suggested.
"You'd also have to make them ineligible for working as lobbyists," one pointed out.
"So many things can be solved this way, the problem is unfortunately not that easy. If they fix things like this there is no more opportunity to steal cash from the tax payers and thus not lucrative anymore," another said.
Jena Warburton is a senior reporter and editor at TheStreet. She covers retail, investing, restaurants, banking and financials. Jena graduated from Trinity College with a bachelor's in American Studies.
