Thursday, March 21, 2013

Warren Buffett: Bet on Natural Juices of Capitalism

For all the repeated calls of taxing the rich and the need for interventions, former value investor and now political entrepreneur (crony) does a U-turn and unexpectedly praises capitalism

From Bloomberg
Warren Buffett, the billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A), said investors should bet on the “natural juices” of capitalism in the U.S. even as lawmakers struggle to narrow the budget deficit.

People tend to “focus too much on what the government’s done, and to give them either credit or blame,” Buffett said in an interview conducted by the chief executive officer of Business Wire, the Berkshire subsidiary that distributes press releases. “The real credit belongs to our system.”

Buffett, 82, has used annual letters to shareholders and public appearances to highlight the prospects for the world’s largest economy, where most of Berkshire’s operations are based. He’s also called for an increase in taxes on the wealthiest individuals to help reduce budget deficits and forestall cuts, an approach that Republicans say would hurt growth.

The U.S. economy “is coming back because of the natural juices of capitalism and not because of government,” Buffett told Business Wire’s Cathy Baron Tamraz in a video interview posted online today. “We have a wonderful system that eventually is self-cleansing and always moves forward.”
Perhaps Mr. Buffett could just be rationalizing his actions due to the recent bullish bets he made, part of such acquisitions involved 28 newspapers for $344 million. Yet this should be an example of how people use "capitalism" when it is convenient for them.


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