Warren Buffet is the Chief Executive Officer of the investment firm Berkshire Hathaway and one of the wealthiest people in the world. In an editorial in the Wall Street Journal , Buffet argued that economic policies in the United States should be designed so that people who are willing to work receive enough income to live a "decent lifestyle." He argued that an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) would be superior to an increase in the minimum wage as a means to reach this goal. The EITC is a program under which the federal government makes payments to low-income workers. Source: Warren Buffet, "Better Than Raising the Minimum Wage," Wall Street Journal , May 21, 2015. Is Buffet correct that it is the role of the federal government to make sure people who work will have enough income to live a "decent lifestyle"?

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Social Studies

Shelby Moran

5 April, 06:50

Warren Buffet is the Chief Executive Officer of the investment firm Berkshire Hathaway and one of the wealthiest people in the world. In an editorial in the Wall Street Journal , Buffet argued that economic policies in the United States should be designed so that people who are willing to work receive enough income to live a "decent lifestyle." He argued that an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) would be superior to an increase in the minimum wage as a means to reach this goal. The EITC is a program under which the federal government makes payments to low-income workers. Source: Warren Buffet, "Better Than Raising the Minimum Wage," Wall Street Journal , May 21, 2015. Is Buffet correct that it is the role of the federal government to make sure people who work will have enough income to live a "decent lifestyle"?

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Weaver · Answer 1

Warren Buffet is right when he mentions that the role of the federal government is to ensuring a "decent lifestyle" to those who work, as this is a Constitutional Principle.

Explanation:

Citing the Preamble of the U. S Constitution the federal government, the foundation of the country relies on "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare ( ...) " By general welfare, it can be understood as the promotion of the well-being of the general populace. Thus, it is both reasonable and just that all working people have enough income that enables them to have a decent standard of living, which means that their income should enable them to have adequate housing, food, and other basic services.

Warren Buffet's argument is also legitimate because, although the country has experimented with impressive technological progress and productivity gains in the last decades, most of the country's wealth creation has concentrated in very few hands. According to the billionaire, the expansion of the EITC as a means of increasing working people's income goes hand in hand with ensuring the proper functioning of market forces.

Finally, Buffet's main concern is based on the fact that the American Dream will be an elusive aspiration in a system in which a person who works hard, abide by the rules and educates itself is not able to meet its basic needs.

The bottom line of the CEO's arguments is to ensure that the American Dream promises' remain truthful and achievable for everyone.