Thursday, October 31, 2013

Bill Gross Not Talking His Book

At least for once:
Bill Gross is feeling guilty about being among the wealthiest people in America. That's why he thinks that he and other filthy rich members of the 1% should pay more in taxes.
"Having gotten rich at the expense of labor, the guilt sets in and I begin to feel sorry for the less well-off," writes Gross, co-founder of investment firm Pimco and manager of the biggest bond fund in the world, in the opening of his latest monthly investment letter.
Gross usually devotes his outlook pieces to discussions of the bond market. And they are often littered with pop culture references. He didn't disappoint this month.
He compared those who complain about paying a greater percentage of their wealth in taxes to the Disney (DIS, Fortune 500) character Scrooge McDuck.
"It's time to kick out and share some of your good fortune by paying higher taxes and reforming them to favor economic growth and labor, as opposed to corporate profits and individual gazillions," Gross wrote.
Gross is at the very top of the ultra-rich group he is talking about. Forbes estimates his net worth at $2.2 billion, which would put him in the top 0.01%.
Gross said he and other top 1% earners need to recognize that they have had the "privilege of riding the credit wave and a credit boom for the past three decades. Paraphrasing President Obama's "you didn't build that" comment from the 2012 campaign, Gross reminds the rich "you did not create that wave. You rode it."
I've been critical of Gross at times, but in this case, he gets it.  Today's inequality is staggering, and it can't last.  There are two options, raise wages or raise taxes.  I'd be happier than hell to see this be handled by the private sector, but I won't hold my breath.

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