Brenda Brenda:
Buffett does a lot for charity. I guess we all forgot about the 26 bln he gave to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2006?
Actually it was $37 billion (10 million shares of Berkshire Hathaway), but he is giving away 5% of that per year, so in reality he hasn't given $37 billion yet - he's just promised to.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/5115920.stmI admit that the $9 billion or so he's given so far is huge, but it does nothing to help the US with their current situation. If he and everyone else at his income level paid the same as the middle class (percentage-wise), the US would be far healthier economically. Those here who argue for tax cuts insist that high income earners will flee, but given the economic opportunities the US offers, I doubt it.
The Republicans/Tea Party are demanding that the government cut spending, but at the same time keep Bush's tax cuts for the rich, which costs around $800 million annually (more than half the current deficit). They are nothing but a bunch of hypocrites - if they really cared about cutting spending, they cut fairly and evenly across the board - not just to social programs as they propose.