For those of you who haven’t met Mulder (named for Fox Mulder of X-Files fame), he’s a small black and white cat [...]]]> A few hours ago, I got off the phone with our trusted veterinarian, Dr. Rosalyn MacDonald, having just booked Mulder’s final appointment at the Bytown Cat Hospital for January 6 at 10AM.

For those of you who haven’t met Mulder (named for Fox Mulder of X-Files fame), he’s a small black and white cat with a pink nose. His paw pads are a blend of pink and black blotches and his belly is all white. He has been our beloved friend since 1995 when I picked him out at the Humane Society and pedwar chose him to be the newest addition to our family.

From the moment we got him home, we knew we had someone special. He could fit in my palm, but had enough attitude for five cats twice his size. He took over. In the first few days, he amazed us with great feats such as jumping from a perch 30″ off the floor to the top shelf of a closet, covering a good four horizontal feet, all so he could knock all the board games off that shelf. His intelligence was apparent, too. Like any kitten, he clawed at his toys, but his claws were never used on us, not even when playing. He charmed his way into our hearts, spending evenings on the couch with us, half of him on me, the other half on pedwar. He knew we were his.

Mulder’s intrepid nature also caused us a few scares over the years. During his first summer with us, I accidentally left a screenless window open. By the time we discovered it, our little Mul was gone, disappeared into the night. I was beside myself with fear that our little friend was lost, or worse, that I would find his broken body on the street. Thankfully, he had found a safe spot under a parked car. When we found him, he was scared — little pink nose glowing red — but with a little coaxing, he did his patented Mulder flop into my palm. I still remember the relief I felt as I pulled him out and held him.

As Mul grew, it became clear that he was the German Shepherd of the cat world. He would do periodic patrols of the house, from window to window, door to door, making sure that everything was in order. He would spend his days watching the world go by from windows, alerting us to anything out of the ordinary. When Bobo joined us in 1998, Mul began a mentor-ship program, eventually leading to Bobo’s deputization, and a reduction in Mulder’s workload.

Mul’s devotion to patrolling spanned three residences. In each place, our bed was the centre of his world. He slept by my feet or sometimes by pedwar’s head, always with his gaze towards the door. When Trish was recovering from some minor surgery, years ago, he spent all his time in bed with her, keeping her company as she recovered. Through each of our two moves, it was obvious how the reassembly of the bed served to calm him, providing a clear signal that this new place is now our home.

Mul won’t get to watch us pack for our next move or explore the new house later this year. He has been struggling with a thyroid condition and renal failure for the last few years, in a battle to find the right dose of medications. For the last few years, his good days were greatly outnumbering his bad days, but more recently the balance has shifted. He’s now suffering minor seizures at least two or three times per week and his stomach is constantly upset, preventing him from eating well. His constant pleas to be held, comforted, and reassured in the arms that have loved him for so many years are now telling us that he knows it’s time to go.

Mulder is my first pet and it’s breaking my heart to have to say good-bye to him, but we can’t allow him to suffer any further. I thought this would be easier than when we lost Bobo last year since we’ve had time to work-up to it and since Mulder is a genuinely old cat, but I’m finding it to be just as hard. Mulder is… I can’t find words…. He’s a 1o-pound cat that will leave a mile-wide hole in his wake. Our home will feel empty for a long time without him.

If you have a pet, cherish him or her while you can. Mul, you’ll always be our Number One Bear. I hope you know what you’ve meant to us.

Some of Mul’s nicknames: Mulder Bear, Number One Bear, Mulder T. Bear, Mul, Darth Mul, Mulder Berry, Mulder Berry Bush, Shrub, T-Bear, Bul Head, Mul Face, Smallish Bear, Mully, Stinker Bear, Ranch Bear, Bear Cub, Shrubbish, Wee Bear

OUR leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.” But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were [...]]]> Can’t get much more plain truth than this, in the New York Times. Reproduced below in case the link goes dead.

OUR leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.” But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched.

While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks. Some of us are investment managers who earn billions from our daily labors but are allowed to classify our income as “carried interest,” thereby getting a bargain 15 percent tax rate. Others own stock index futures for 10 minutes and have 60 percent of their gain taxed at 15 percent, as if they’d been long-term investors.

These and other blessings are showered upon us by legislators in Washington who feel compelled to protect us, much as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species. It’s nice to have friends in high places.

Last year my federal tax bill — the income tax I paid, as well as payroll taxes paid by me and on my behalf — was $6,938,744. That sounds like a lot of money. But what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income — and that’s actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office. Their tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent.

If you make money with money, as some of my super-rich friends do, your percentage may be a bit lower than mine. But if you earn money from a job, your percentage will surely exceed mine — most likely by a lot.

To understand why, you need to examine the sources of government revenue. Last year about 80 percent of these revenues came from personal income taxes and payroll taxes. The mega-rich pay income taxes at a rate of 15 percent on most of their earnings but pay practically nothing in payroll taxes. It’s a different story for the middle class: typically, they fall into the 15 percent and 25 percent income tax brackets, and then are hit with heavy payroll taxes to boot.

Back in the 1980s and 1990s, tax rates for the rich were far higher, and my percentage rate was in the middle of the pack. According to a theory I sometimes hear, I should have thrown a fit and refused to invest because of the elevated tax rates on capital gains and dividends.

I didn’t refuse, nor did others. I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone — not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 — shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain. People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off. And to those who argue that higher rates hurt job creation, I would note that a net of nearly 40 million jobs were added between 1980 and 2000. You know what’s happened since then: lower tax rates and far lower job creation.

Since 1992, the I.R.S. has compiled data from the returns of the 400 Americans reporting the largest income. In 1992, the top 400 had aggregate taxable income of $16.9 billion and paid federal taxes of 29.2 percent on that sum. In 2008, the aggregate income of the highest 400 had soared to $90.9 billion — a staggering $227.4 million on average — but the rate paid had fallen to 21.5 percent.

The taxes I refer to here include only federal income tax, but you can be sure that any payroll tax for the 400 was inconsequential compared to income. In fact, 88 of the 400 in 2008 reported no wages at all, though every one of them reported capital gains. Some of my brethren may shun work but they all like to invest. (I can relate to that.)

I know well many of the mega-rich and, by and large, they are very decent people. They love America and appreciate the opportunity this country has given them. Many have joined the Giving Pledge, promising to give most of their wealth to philanthropy. Most wouldn’t mind being told to pay more in taxes as well, particularly when so many of their fellow citizens are truly suffering.

Twelve members of Congress will soon take on the crucial job of rearranging our country’s finances. They’ve been instructed to devise a plan that reduces the 10-year deficit by at least $1.5 trillion. It’s vital, however, that they achieve far more than that. Americans are rapidly losing faith in the ability of Congress to deal with our country’s fiscal problems. Only action that is immediate, real and very substantial will prevent that doubt from morphing into hopelessness. That feeling can create its own reality.

Job one for the 12 is to pare down some future promises that even a rich America can’t fulfill. Big money must be saved here. The 12 should then turn to the issue of revenues. I would leave rates for 99.7 percent of taxpayers unchanged and continue the current 2-percentage-point reduction in the employee contribution to the payroll tax. This cut helps the poor and the middle class, who need every break they can get.

But for those making more than $1 million — there were 236,883 such households in 2009 — I would raise rates immediately on taxable income in excess of $1 million, including, of course, dividends and capital gains. And for those who make $10 million or more — there were 8,274 in 2009 — I would suggest an additional increase in rate.

My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It’s time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice.

Warren E. Buffett is the chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway.

A version of this op-ed appeared in print on August 15, 2011, on page A21 of the New York edition with the headline: Stop Coddling the Super-Rich.