Article

2020-05-03 Economy

Warren Buffett: ‘American Magic' Will Spur US Economic Recovery

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by Besoeker 2020-05-03 04:48|| || Front Page|| [5 views ] Top

#1 I'm sure this crony capitalist will be fine. He surely must miss Barry, though.

Posted by Clem 2020-05-03 08:11|| 2020-05-03 08:11|| Front Page Top

#2 Putting Buffett to the side for a moment, the current problem is basically a logistics problem: we have to manufacture a lot of stuff quickly and get it to the right places quickly. This really ought to play to our historic national strengths. The model that comes to mind is the famous Willow Run aircraft factory during WWII, where, in legend, a B-24 rolled off the production line every hour while the crews waited to take delivery. (Just how screwed were the Japanese at that point?)

Now, you couldn't do Willow Run today because the site picked for the factory would turn out to be on the ancestral mating grounds of the left-handed sea slug, and OSHA would shut the plant down in 10 minutes if it did get built. But those are limitations we've imposed on ourselves. We could put the old-school engineers in charge and furlough the bureaucrats. If ever there was a time to do that, this seems like it. Or, as Churchill told FDR, “I trust you realize that the voice and force of the United States may count for nothing if they are withheld too long.”

Posted by Matt 2020-05-03 10:35|| 2020-05-03 10:35|| Front Page Top

#3 Can't spur an economy with the governor's boot on the throat of business.

Posted by Procopius2k 2020-05-03 13:58|| 2020-05-03 13:58|| Front Page Top

#4 #2 Hear, hear

Re Buffett, that old hypocrite talks a good game but his actual returns have less to do with business acumen than with the man's cynical exploitation of not just the tax code but also the way Congress treats certain industries.

He rails against hedge funds -- but 60% or more of his returns come from leverage i.e. he's in effect a hedge funded himself. (The leverage comes from the huge cash flow generated by the privately-held cash cows in his portfolio).

He trashes the banks - but some of his biggest scores came from investing in well-connected mega-banks right after the 2008-09 crisis.

He postures as a champion of free enterprise -- but his most lucrative investments have always favored companies and industries that benefited critically upon favorable regulation, including at times anti-competitive cartel-like practices.

No wonder the old hypocrite is such close buddies with Gates.

Posted by Lex 2020-05-03 14:21|| 2020-05-03 14:21|| Front Page Top

#5 /\ Hear, hear

Posted by Clem 2020-05-03 14:51|| 2020-05-03 14:51|| Front Page Top

#6 Re #6: I used to work for GEICo. (Buffet owns GEICO.)
I was hired to teach Java programming. A year or s later, they announced that they were switching to C# a Microsoft language. The rumor was that it happened because Buffet played bridge with Bill Gates.

Posted by Rambler in Virginia 2020-05-03 15:09|| 2020-05-03 15:09|| Front Page Top

#7 Opinion: Warren Buffett and Bill Gates like railroads, and you should too

If he sold airlines, it was to quickly move to something else. Yes, there is a drop in passenger-seat-miles but also in oil/fuel prices. Look for FedEx, et. al. move to rail shipping.

Posted by Skidmark 2020-05-03 17:19|| 2020-05-03 17:19|| Front Page Top

23:04 Bunyip
22:40 KBK
22:19 b
22:16 KBK
21:55 ruprecht
21:53 Lex
21:39 USN, Ret.
21:22 USN, Ret.
20:59 Rambler in Virginia
20:41 Clem
20:28 Frank G
20:19 Frank G
19:56 Silentbrick
19:50 charger
19:34 Frank G
19:31 SteveS
19:23 SteveS
19:18 SteveS
19:17 Matt
19:15 SteveS
19:08 SteveS
19:02 Spot
18:58 SteveS
18:56 ruprecht