As an investor, Warren Buffett has few peers.

As a philanthropist, he is second only to Bill Gates.

As a tax advisor, Mr. Buffett is misguided.

In a letter to the NY Times on Sunday, Mr. Buffett tells of checking with his “mega rich” pals to determine if they, like he,  have benefited from “extraordinary btax breaks” along with “other blessing showered upon us (them) by legislators in Washington who feel compelled to protect us (them).”  Did he really need to ask?  The sycophants in Washington protect Buffett and his “mega rich” pals because they collectively exert an “unfair” influence over elected officials.   Politicians only coddle influential constituents, stop sending them campaign checks and the “blessing and protection” they’ve previously showered would soon dry up.

For a man who has made billions for himself and investors analyzing companies, his half baked solution to the government’s debt and the plight of the poor and middle classes is alarming.  The United States does not have a revenue problem; it has a spending problem.  Until the parasites in Washington acknowledge this and make substantial reductions to expenditures, no amount of additional revenue will suffice.  Simply raising taxes (fair or otherwise) is moronic, they would merely devise other ways to spend it.
Here, are some  suggestions that might actually yield results worthy of discussion.  Note, none of them requires government intervention.

• Create real jobs in America.  Jobs in industries that create lasting value for families and communities rather than exploit “efficiencies” and “float.”  Buffett made the bulk of his money with insurance and financial companies, companies that do not produce anything but simply extract a fee from society.  Perhaps he could use some of those profits to restore meaningful jobs in industries like agriculture and manufacturing (of goods we need, not crap for landfills).
• Encourage the development of a healthy economy rather than a growing one.  An economy where all resources, waste, and costs are accounted and paid by users rather than shouldered by the poor and middle classes.  To quote Liberty Hyde Bailey, “Finance and social morals must coincide.”
• Deal with problems directly.  How often are government programs regarded as efficient and well run?  Why accept the waste?  See it fix it, or see it fund it.  Develop a nationwide network of non profits to replace as many government agencies as possible.

If Mr. Buffett and his buddies are altruistic in their desire to help the country, the time for suggestions to “12 members of Congress” is long past. Now is the time to do something.  Writing letters is easy.  Actions, as they say, are louder than words.

What would you suggest?

Let me start by stating none of the economic news in the last week concerning the United States is surprising.  A rating downgrade, like jobs or economic growth is a consequence resulting from actions previously taken, not as many appear to suggest, a signal.  The actions of our government and citizenry over the last 5 years in particular and the last 40 in general has for many people been like watching a slow motion train wreck one agonizing second at a time, something to be seen but nearly impossible to stop.  That it took so long for one of the three major agencies to downgrade US debt merely emphasizes the irrelevance of the whole charade that is “credit rating”.

The President’s reaction to the downgrade was, as is typical of bureaucrats, little more than a collection of sound bites lacking in both substance and insight.  In spite of his brevity, I obtained nearly 4 pages of quotes and statements to contemplate.  While most could be classified as atypical political remarks, a few were notable for exhibiting the precise mentality that led to the current financial situation.  For example, at just :49 seconds he offered this verbal stroke of brilliance:

“We didn’t need a rating agency to tell us we need a balanced long term approach to deficit reduction.”

Just like an alcoholic doesn’t need to be told to drink less.  Or at 6:26 he had this bit of sage wisdom:

“There will always be economic factors we can’t control.”

Yea, like all of them.  The assumption that we can control anything is exactly what contributed to many of the problems we face today.  Maybe if we just acknowledged that the economy can’t be controlled, fixed, or stimulated, real progress could be made toward a healthy economy (notice I didn’t state a growing economy, but I’ll have more on this topic soon).  Just :32 seconds prior, at 5:48 President Obama offered up this suggestion:

“We should also help companies that want to repair our roads and bridges and airports so that thousands of construction workers who have been without a job for the last few years can have a paycheck again…”

How does he propose we “help” said companies and construction workers?  How is the government  going to pay for their services?  How do you “tackle deficits” by spending more?  That the government wants to “help” is just another demonstration of how we accumulated such a gargantuan deficit in grave need of reduction.  However, perhaps no other statement he made demonstrated the arrogance and misguided attitude of our government and citizenry as this whopper at 6:47:

“This is the United States of America, no matter what some agency may say, we’ve always been and always will be a AAA country.”

What?  It’s statements like this and “consumer confidence” that have me most concerned.  Are we ever going to actually deal with our problems?  Or, do we merely want to elevate our national self esteem?  The stereotypes of a spoiled rich kid are so fully and completely embodied by this one statement that so succinctly exposes the root of our predicament, I’m forced to consider the possibility that we may have actually deluded ourselves into believing we’re endowed with the right to behave irresponsibly and without accountability, the rest of the world (and subsequent generations of Americans) be damned?
Unless we (politicians AND citizens) stop externalizing the problems we face, accept responsibility for our actions, and make the necessary changes to cultivate a healthy economy, we will likely be remembered as those who squandered the wealth of a nation.
What do you think?