Warrren Buffett on the economy

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

"He said politicians should also stop trying to use the current economic crisis to force through other policy changes."

Obama are you listening

NO!

[mawilson 2,133]

You. He's still got tens of billions and when this recession ends he will have more than he started with. He's not worried, why should he be? He's got more millions than you have posts here.

What a dumb thing to say. He still has money left so he shouldn't be worried about losing 10 or 20 billion dollars?

I bet he gets it all back and more. He's not panicking like the rest or Wall Street.

LOL - you'll make a great trader

"It wasn't a bad trade, I bet I'll get it all back in about 20 years or so"

[spookyturtle 9,466]

You. He's still got tens of billions and when this recession ends he will have more than he started with. He's not worried, why should he be? He's got more millions than you have posts here.

What a dumb thing to say. He still has money left so he shouldn't be worried about losing 10 or 20 billion dollars?

I bet he gets it all back and more. He's not panicking like the rest or Wall Street.

LOL - you'll make a great trader

"It wasn't a bad trade, I bet I'll get it all back in about 20 years or so"

I just don't think the man is stupid, that's all. He can't control the economy, but he has spent a lifetime doing what he does best. He has his ups and downs like anyone, just on a larger scale.

[mawilson 2,133]

I just don't think the man is stupid, that's all. He can't control the economy, but he has spent a lifetime doing what he does best. He has his ups and downs like anyone, just on a larger scale.

I don't think he's stupid either, but it was a stupid move to buy GE and GS when he did.

It was a risky contrarian move and he clearly didn't do enough research. He clearly

had no idea just how badly contaminated their balance sheets were.

[I'm Gone 60]

Did you pick I Quit as a username when you retired from the day to day running of Microsoft?

it was related to a vj member, noob.

This Obama thing appears to be pulling Mike out of retirement, one post at a time.

I returned to answering SSN questions (which I'm sure Warren Buffet couldn't answer) some time ago, just jumped back into the Off Topic area since Yobama got elected.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Vaunted Obama message machine is off-key

By Steve Holland - Analysis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When billionaire investor Warren Buffett says President Barack Obama's economic message is muddled and undermining public confidence, it's worth listening.

Halfway through his first 100 days in office, ace communicator Obama has struggled to find the right tone in talking about the economy, twinning bleak warnings with optimism about the future.

On the campaign trail, Obama said a president must be able to do more than one thing at a time, and his White House has been doing that.

He and his aides have interspliced comments about the economy while launching theme-of-the-day initiatives on healthcare, stem cell research and on Tuesday, education.

Last week the White House spent some time accusing conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh of being leader of the Republican Party.

But Obama, together with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, White House economic guru Lawrence Summers and others have so far failed to explain how they plan to rescue American banks, some of which are teetering on the brink of collapse.

There is talk of "stress tests" for troubled banks, or nationalizing them or letting some fail -- but no clear plan.

Buffett, an informal Obama adviser considered a financial seer on Wall Street, told CNBC on Monday the message has to be "very, very clear as to what government will be doing."

"And I think we've had, and it's the nature of the political process somewhat, but we've had muddled messages and the American public does not know. They feel they don't know what's going on, and their reaction then is to absolutely pull back," he said.

At the White House, spokesman Robert Gibbs reacted defensively, saying Obama has only been in office seven weeks and it should be no surprise that "all of the problems that took many years to take hold haven't necessarily been solved."

Obama, at Tuesday's education event, rejected criticism that he is trying to do too many things at once, citing three predecessors who managed to juggle challenges on many fronts --Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt and John Kennedy.

"President Kennedy didn't have the luxury of choosing between civil rights and sending us to the moon. And we don't have the luxury of choosing between getting our economy moving now and rebuilding it over the long term," he said.

Obama is benefiting from high popular support. Polls give him a 60 percent approval rating and experts say voters seem willing to give him time to get his sea legs.

"You've got a public that is going to cut the president some slack and understands this is a deep-seated problem," said American Enterprise Institute political analyst Norman Ornstein.

"But if there's no sign of progress of any sort, no sign that the policies he implemented beginning in January and February are doing anything by June, July or August, then he's going to have a bigger political problem," Ornstein said.

University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato said the administration has left the public confused about what will happen to the banks and may be inadvertently sending a message that "the problem may be too big for government to solve."

"I can't figure out what they're talking about on the banks," he said.

Tony Fratto, a former Treasury and White House spokesman for former President George W. Bush, said a muddled message was not the only problem.

"It's not just a message problem. It's partially a fact problem, and that is the market is not getting clear information on what Treasury's intentions are for the rest of this program," he said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5294HH20090310

[spookyturtle 9,466]

I just don't think the man is stupid, that's all. He can't control the economy, but he has spent a lifetime doing what he does best. He has his ups and downs like anyone, just on a larger scale.

I don't think he's stupid either, but it was a stupid move to buy GE and GS when he did.

It was a risky contrarian move and he clearly didn't do enough research. He clearly

had no idea just how badly contaminated their balance sheets were.

I'm sure he didn't think the market would tank as far as it has, otherwise he wouldn't have invested when he did.

[I'm Gone 60]

Here is someone that knows what they are talking about.

[William33 110]

I just don't think the man is stupid, that's all. He can't control the economy, but he has spent a lifetime doing what he does best. He has his ups and downs like anyone, just on a larger scale.

I don't think he's stupid either, but it was a stupid move to buy GE and GS when he did.

It was a risky contrarian move and he clearly didn't do enough research. He clearly

had no idea just how badly contaminated their balance sheets were.

Monday morning QB's always get it right. With Buffett's "insiders" calling the shots at the time, he agreed to the buys. Plain and simple.

He would not be a billionaire otherwise.

[Time2gopeacefully 0]

I just don't think the man is stupid, that's all. He can't control the economy, but he has spent a lifetime doing what he does best. He has his ups and downs like anyone, just on a larger scale.

I don't think he's stupid either, but it was a stupid move to buy GE and GS when he did.

It was a risky contrarian move and he clearly didn't do enough research. He clearly

had no idea just how badly contaminated their balance sheets were.

Monday morning QB's always get it right. With Buffett's "insiders" calling the shots at the time, he agreed to the buys. Plain and simple.

He would not be a billionaire otherwise.

By way of introduction, let me just say that Mr. Buffett's co-conspirators think that everyone with a different set of beliefs from Buffett's is going to get a one-way ticket to Hell. I say to them, "Prove it"—not that they'll be able to, of course, but because Buffett is trying to brainwash us. He wants us to believe that it's contemptuous to condemn his hypocrisy; that's boring; that's not cool. You know what I think of that, don't you? I think that I've known some showboaters who were impressively huffy. However, Buffett is dirty and that trumps huffy every time.

Given the amount of misinformation that Buffett is circulating, I must point out that his solipsism movement is the blackest home of tyranny and oppression in the world. Get that straight, please. Any other thinking is blame-shoving or responsibility-dodging. Furthermore, Buffett has hatched all sorts of worthless plans. Remember his attempt to devalue me as a person? No? That's because Buffett's so good at concealing his discourteous, disaffected activities. What we're involved in with Buffett is not a game. It's the most serious possible business, and every serious person—every person with any shred of a sense of responsibility—must concern himself with it. To summarize my views: Mr. Buffett's idea of addressing a problem is not to fix the problem but to establish a task force, council, or commission to look into it, study it, dissect it, and finally talk it to death.

[I'm Gone 60]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzK-qZzmnTE...feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_izvHhD6pF0...feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCZG9KT8NvU...feature=related

[William33 110]

I just don't think the man is stupid, that's all. He can't control the economy, but he has spent a lifetime doing what he does best. He has his ups and downs like anyone, just on a larger scale.

I don't think he's stupid either, but it was a stupid move to buy GE and GS when he did.

It was a risky contrarian move and he clearly didn't do enough research. He clearly

had no idea just how badly contaminated their balance sheets were.

Monday morning QB's always get it right. With Buffett's "insiders" calling the shots at the time, he agreed to the buys. Plain and simple.

He would not be a billionaire otherwise.

By way of introduction, let me just say that Mr. Buffett's co-conspirators think that everyone with a different set of beliefs from Buffett's is going to get a one-way ticket to Hell. I say to them, "Prove it"—not that they'll be able to, of course, but because Buffett is trying to brainwash us. He wants us to believe that it's contemptuous to condemn his hypocrisy; that's boring; that's not cool. You know what I think of that, don't you? I think that I've known some showboaters who were impressively huffy. However, Buffett is dirty and that trumps huffy every time.

Given the amount of misinformation that Buffett is circulating, I must point out that his solipsism movement is the blackest home of tyranny and oppression in the world. Get that straight, please. Any other thinking is blame-shoving or responsibility-dodging. Furthermore, Buffett has hatched all sorts of worthless plans. Remember his attempt to devalue me as a person? No? That's because Buffett's so good at concealing his discourteous, disaffected activities. What we're involved in with Buffett is not a game. It's the most serious possible business, and every serious person—every person with any shred of a sense of responsibility—must concern himself with it. To summarize my views: Mr. Buffett's idea of addressing a problem is not to fix the problem but to establish a task force, council, or commission to look into it, study it, dissect it, and finally talk it to death.

You just explained the mentality of a billionaire (sort of ).....learn from this.....

[spookyturtle 9,466]

It must be a conspiracy. He must be in cahoots with the Democrats and Obama instead of the successful methods of the Republicans and Limbaugh.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I just don't think the man is stupid, that's all. He can't control the economy, but he has spent a lifetime doing what he does best. He has his ups and downs like anyone, just on a larger scale.

I don't think he's stupid either, but it was a stupid move to buy GE and GS when he did.

It was a risky contrarian move and he clearly didn't do enough research. He clearly

had no idea just how badly contaminated their balance sheets were.

Monday morning QB's always get it right. With Buffett's "insiders" calling the shots at the time, he agreed to the buys. Plain and simple.

He would not be a billionaire otherwise.

By way of introduction, let me just say that Mr. Buffett's co-conspirators think that everyone with a different set of beliefs from Buffett's is going to get a one-way ticket to Hell. I say to them, "Prove it"—not that they'll be able to, of course, but because Buffett is trying to brainwash us. He wants us to believe that it's contemptuous to condemn his hypocrisy; that's boring; that's not cool. You know what I think of that, don't you? I think that I've known some showboaters who were impressively huffy. However, Buffett is dirty and that trumps huffy every time.

Given the amount of misinformation that Buffett is circulating, I must point out that his solipsism movement is the blackest home of tyranny and oppression in the world. Get that straight, please. Any other thinking is blame-shoving or responsibility-dodging. Furthermore, Buffett has hatched all sorts of worthless plans. Remember his attempt to devalue me as a person? No? That's because Buffett's so good at concealing his discourteous, disaffected activities. What we're involved in with Buffett is not a game. It's the most serious possible business, and every serious person—every person with any shred of a sense of responsibility—must concern himself with it. To summarize my views: Mr. Buffett's idea of addressing a problem is not to fix the problem but to establish a task force, council, or commission to look into it, study it, dissect it, and finally talk it to death.

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. wants us to believe that we can solve all of our problems by giving it lots of money. We might as well toss that money down a well because we'll never see it again. What we will see, however, is that idle hands are the devil's tools. That's why BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. spends its leisure time devising ever more politically incorrect ways to base racial definitions on lineage, phrenological characteristics, skin hue, and religion. Okay, I've vented enough frustration. So let me end by saying that no reasonable person would deny that I cannot conceive of any circumstance under which BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC.'s smear tactics could be considered appropriate.

[spookyturtle 9,466]

[bERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. wants us to believe that we can solve all of our problems by giving it lots of money. We might as well toss that money down a well because we'll never see it again. What we will see, however, is that idle hands are the devil's tools. That's why BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. spends its leisure time devising ever more politically incorrect ways to base racial definitions on lineage, phrenological characteristics, skin hue, and religion. Okay, I've vented enough frustration. So let me end by saying that no reasonable person would deny that I cannot conceive of any circumstance under which BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC.'s smear tactics could be considered appropriate.

Bershire Hathaway still turned a profit of $5 billion.