Thu Jul 5, 2012, 11:19 PM

Senator Durbin asked Warren Buffett if he used offshore bank accounts

http://www.theoffshoreonline.com/node/199

"I asked Warren Buffet in a meeting we had recently, 'Have you ever had a Swiss bank account?' He said, 'No, there are plenty of good banks in the United States,'" Durbin said.

"So I started asking people: 'Why do you have Swiss bank account?' One, you believe the Swiss Franc is a stronger currency than the United States dollar. And that is apparently the decision the Romney family made during the Bush presidency. And secondly, you want to conceal something. You want to hide something. Why would you have a Swiss bank account instead of one in the United States? I would like to ... ask the press to really press some of these questions, the obvious questions. When is the last time a presidential candidate for the United States had a Swiss bank account? I think the answer is never."

And Buffett could buy Romney over 100 times and still be worth billions.

Buffett invests in America. Romney doesn't.

11 replies, 4396 views

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11 replies	Author	Time	Post
Senator Durbin asked Warren Buffett if he used offshore bank accounts (Original post)	banned from Kos	Jul 2012	OP
Buffet's classy. Romney, on the other hand... not so much. nt	shcrane71	Jul 2012	#1
Romney is definitely a class half empty kind of guy /nt	demwing	Jul 2012	#2
"Buffett invests in America. Romney doesn't."	Catch2.2	Jul 2012	#3
buffett just puts his in tax-free private foundations. where he can use it to influence politics &	HiPointDem	Jul 2012	#4
I think it's fucking awesome that Buffett doesn't have any $$$ invested outside of the US...	cherokeeprogressive	Jul 2012	#5
EVER?	vanlassie	Jul 2012	#11
Why do we admire Buffett so much?	BlueCheese	Jul 2012	#6
I fon’t particularly care if he is investing his money to create product or jobs	left is right	Jul 2012	#8
"Buffett invests in America. Romney doesn't."	lob1	Jul 2012	#7
What's the answer to "why do you have an account in the Caymans?"	rucky	Jul 2012	#9
A large portion of Buffett's holdings...	meaculpa2011	Jul 2012	#10

Response to banned from Kos (Original post)

Thu Jul 5, 2012, 11:56 PM

shcrane71 (1,706 posts)

1. Buffet's classy. Romney, on the other hand... not so much. nt

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Response to shcrane71 (Reply #1)

Fri Jul 6, 2012, 12:08 AM

demwing (10,959 posts)

2. Romney is definitely a class half empty kind of guy /nt

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Response to banned from Kos (Original post)

Fri Jul 6, 2012, 01:15 AM

Catch2.2 (68 posts)

3. "Buffett invests in America. Romney doesn't."

Pretty much sums it up.

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Response to banned from Kos (Original post)

Fri Jul 6, 2012, 01:30 AM

HiPointDem (16,974 posts)

4. buffett just puts his in tax-free private foundations. where he can use it to influence politics &

Last edited Fri Jul 6, 2012, 01:30 AM USA/ET - Edit history (1)

policy.

he plays the long game.

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Response to banned from Kos (Original post)

Fri Jul 6, 2012, 01:45 AM

cherokeeprogressive (14,956 posts)

5. I think it's fucking awesome that Buffett doesn't have any $$$ invested outside of the US...

I mean, having $$$ invested outside of the US would be like betting against the US wouldn't it? True Patriot that he is, WB has invested every single penny of his billions in US businesses, banks, investment firms, corporations etc. Who wouldn't love a man like that?

Oh... wait. Is the point that Buffett invests EVERYTHING in the US? Or is it that he invests A HIGHER PERCENTAGE in the US? Either way, that argument doesn't hold the same weight as "do you have ANYTHING invested outside of the United States? Remember, any bank account other than the one you use to live day to day is investment oriented.

Would anyone in their right mind think francs are a better investment at the moment than dollars? So, at the moment, he can say he DOESN'T have a Swiss bank account. Good for him.

Maybe the question should have been "HAVE YOU EVER HAD A SWISS BANK ACCOUNT, or an account in the Caymans, or ANY account outside the US banking system??" I'm betting that's a question he either would refuse to answer outright, or refer to his lawyers.

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Response to cherokeeprogressive (Reply #5)

Fri Jul 6, 2012, 08:23 AM

vanlassie (1,696 posts)

11. EVER?

Check the OP.

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Response to banned from Kos (Original post)

Fri Jul 6, 2012, 01:48 AM

BlueCheese (1,176 posts)

6. Why do we admire Buffett so much?

His political positions are generally liberal, for sure. But so are a lot of people's. He's accumulated a huge amount of money, and apparently without ripping anyone off as many Wall Street types have. But I don't really get the idea that his investments are particularly noble, either-- they don't come from creating new products or inventions and employing a lot of people, for example.

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Response to BlueCheese (Reply #6)

Fri Jul 6, 2012, 06:34 AM

left is right (1,561 posts)

8. I fon’t particularly care if he is investing his money to create product or jobs

he could stuff every dollar in mattress or build an underground vault for all of it. But I do care whether he is using his vast sums of money to hurt America, Koch brothers uses theirs to advocate for policies that hurt many poor people—from what I can tell Buffet doesn’t. He is therefore more admirable

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Response to banned from Kos (Original post)

Fri Jul 6, 2012, 02:36 AM

lob1 (3,126 posts)

7. "Buffett invests in America. Romney doesn't."

That's what makes Buffett so damned unAmerican.

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Response to banned from Kos (Original post)

Fri Jul 6, 2012, 06:39 AM

rucky (35,001 posts)

9. What's the answer to "why do you have an account in the Caymans?"

Cayman Islands currency is stronger than the US dollar?

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Response to banned from Kos (Original post)

Fri Jul 6, 2012, 06:41 AM

meaculpa2011 (310 posts)

10. A large portion of Buffett's holdings...

involve businesses that thrive by helping people avoid income taxes.

When a billionaire touts a certain government policy it's important to delve deeper into how he profits.

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