ETHICS — NOVAK ATTACKS BUFFET AS A ‘HYPOCRITE’ WITH ‘PHONY MESSAGE’:  Last week, billionaire investor Warren Buffett urged Congress “to maintain the estate tax, saying that plans to repeal the tax would benefit a handful of the richest American families and widen income disparity in the United States.” Fewer than one percent of the nation’s super-rich pay the estate tax. “For this year, individual estates valued at more than $2 million are taxed at a top rate of 45 percent.” In the last 20 years, tax laws have allowed the “superrich” to become richer, according to Buffet. Buffet — who pays the estate tax — argued, “A progressive and meaningful estate tax is needed to curb the movement of a democracy toward plutocracy.” This weekend on Bloomberg Television, right-wing pundit Bob Novak fumed over Buffett’s altruistic testimony, attacking him as a hypocrite who “should be ashamed of himself for putting out that phony message.” Bloomberg’s Al Hunt responded, “Bob, there’s only two differences between you and Warren Buffett: $40 billion and a conscience.”

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