Warren Buffett told CNBC today that Congress is playing a “silly” game of “Russian Roulette” by threatening not to raise the nation’s debt limit as it debates deficit reduction. In a live interview on Squawk Box from Sun Valley, Idaho, where he’s attending the annual Allen & Co. media conference, Buffett warned of “enormous disruption” if there’s no deal to raise the U.S. debt limit. Buffett told Becky Quick that the country’s bills will be paid one way or the other, and Congress should address the situation with “maturity.” [CNBC]
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- Use the Bloomberg command
NH BLG_DEALBREAKER <GO>
to access Dealbreaker
so what exactly is the debt limit for if everyone wants there to be no limit?
Wants Congress to grow up and act with maturity?
Glad to see the old man still has his sense of humor….
He also added they should do it with a pleasant tenor.
When Warren Buffet pays income tax on his $40-50M a year in income at a higher tax rate than I do, he can pop off. Until then, he can STFU about hiking taxes on the middle class to pay for more debt.
He may want Congress to grow up, but he doesn’t want Becky Quick to get any older.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
I’ve got an enormous disruption in my pants
Booming your own comment in capital letters with 13 O’s and 3 exclamation points is clearly the NKI.
I have that same problem a few times a week now; I recommend Depends.
You don’t understand things well, do you?
WB takes a $100,000 salary in pretax dollars from BERK which he pays ordinary income rates on. The rest of his income is aftertax dividend income from BERK which is taxed 40% at the corporate level and another 15% at the personal level, for an effective federal tax rate of 49%. Whats your effective rate?
Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.
-Guy that is loving the recent Shawshank Meme.
Probably saying that with a coke and a smile.
It’s there so that you, specifically you, can say things you think no one has ever thought of before.
You don’t know who Warren Buffet is, do you?
I love it when Unky Buffet asks me to play doctor. I think its fun!
When did BRK start paying a dividend?
Fuck you Warren. Maybe your wisdom won’t amount to jack shit before you kick the bucket, if the US defaults on all its debt, and sends the net asset value of your terds to a big zero.
Incidentally, the “value” of your “solid businesses” would be a hellofa lot less, if not for the ludicrous fiscal and monetary policy of the US, fucktard.
When correcting others, it is best practice to come correct. BRKA hasn’t ever paid a dividend.
When correcting others, it is best practice to come correct. Someone else already pointed that out.
-Guy that corrected him first.
it’s not russian roulette if there’s a round in every chamber
Tell us how you really feel, Son.
Well put.
Confucius, anything to add?
So he wants Congress to act like an adult middle class American? Take out one credit card to pay another credit card.
lot of hot air… lot of statistics… but what we really should be telling people is go out, use your God given created talents and write something – build something – create something - you’ll likely earn a much higher return if, not monetary you’ll be rich in heart, mind and spirit… look at the garbage selling these days.. some of the top books “Go the F to Sleep”, The Hungover Cookbook, Get In the Kitchen Bit@hes Cookbook, — seriously… if those books can make money… anyone can go out and start something.. .it’s the only way we’ll get this country back on track. Taking risks, creating jobs…
DQ blizzard >>> werther’s original
“colloquially” speaking?
Why play small? Buy a house, way over your income level with a low teaser rate ARM; then go get a home equity line of credit; pay off all the minimums on your credit cards; remodel the kitchen on said new home and relandscape with the excess. Start missing payments but pay only partially every other month to stave off foreclosure. Get on a first name basis with someone at JP Morgan, BofA or Wells (or any humungous impersonal bank) and get their sympathy…..send children to public schools and state colleges….Rinse and Repeat.
Warren Buffett runs “crappy” cos. US Air—least inflight service of any airline; NetJets–most expensive jet leasing program; See’s Candy–worst tasting chocolate…
Actually taking the time to count all of the O’s is not the NKI
man with hand in pocket feels cocky all day.
+13 and a “boom goes the dynamite” for you Mch. xoxo
I wish I was as smart as you, maybe then I wouldn’t listen so closely to what Warren Buffet had to say about his income tax rate:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062700097.html
Warren Buffet is a Democrat, and just like all Democrats, he did not write a check to the Treasury for a couple Mil to square up the amount he thinks Uncle Sam UNDER-taxed him, he just cried about how my taxes were too low. Now, the Democrats realize the only place to get more money to keep buying votes is the middle class, and rich, “folksy” pricks like Buffet are crawling out of the woodwork to support raising my taxes.
I’ll say it again, when Warren Buffet writes a check to the Treasury putting him in the same effective tax rate as me, he can talk. He’s free to write that check, anytime. No need for a law forcing him to do it. Until that day, Warren Buffet can STFU about my taxes.
y u mad bro
- guy who aint mad at all
I started out hating this and wound up agreeing. Well done.
weird right? i thought the same.
no he already cut a check to all the starvin marvins in Africa
Piss off Warren
-Geoffrey
Um, we’re getting a little light on facts here. In addition to his BRK holdings of approximately $40B Buffett has a personal portfolio valued at about $1.5B which pays him over $40M a year in dividends. He does pay the low dividend tax rate on that dividend stream. But as someone pointed out those dividends have already been taxed at corporate rate.
The US is one of the few countries that double taxes dividends – which is why companies r highly incentivized to favor debt in their capital structure (interest paid is deducted pre-tax, dividends paid r post tax).
Warren said he would like to remove my ceiling too.
-Becky Quick
Hmmm See’s candies: purchased by BRK in the early 1970s for $25M when it was earning $4M a year. in the last 10 years it has earned $50-60M a year! The total cash flow to BRK from See’s has probably exceeded $1B. Not bad for a $25M investment even allowing for inflation and the long time period.
AND that cash went into the hands of the greatest investor in history probably multiplying it by a factor of 2 or 3! that’s why BRK shareholders r so rich: If u bot $20,000 of BRK stock in 1968 today it would be worth $120,000,000.
Actually he can just shut the fuck up
Come on Warren it’s time to change your depends
STFU……nuff said.
so fucking what? If you bought $20k of AMZN in 1997, you’d have $40 million
in only 14 years vs a gzillion
You have to look at risk-adjusted return. Sure u can pick tech companies and hope they will explode like AMZN or GOOG. But your risk of 100% loss is super high. But BRK is a low beta company that trades (and traded) at a mild premium to its assets. Its highly unusual for such a company to maintain 20%+ growth for such an extended period with such a low probability of permanent loss.
Anyway my point was someone tongue in cheek – I replied to a comment about See’s candy not tasting good with comments about what a brilliant purchase it was. But the candy tastes awfully good if u r a BRK shareholder ;-)
Actually your calculation is in error. if u bot $20K of AMZN in mid 1997 for $2.12 (split adjusted) u would have about $2M today. Still a very nice 39% ROR versus BRK’s 22% but u have to factor in risk adjustment.
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