Buffett: 'Heaven help us' if bailout fails

[democracy1st]

As the proposed $700 billion bailout plan met resistance Wednesday on Capitol Hill, billionaire investor Warren Buffett sounded the alarm on the peril of a failed rescue attempt of the financial markets.

“We are looking over a precipice in terms of the economic condition of the country for the next few years,” Buffett said during an interview on the Fox Business Channel. “If Congress doesn't help us on this, heaven help us.”

Congress will likely scale back the massive bailout plan.

Lawmakers have expressed concerns about oversight, as well as over the rushed nature of the bill. Party leaders and the president have shown support for the bailout since it was crafted over the weekend, but an increasing number of both Republican and Democratic members are expressing doubts over the plan.

President Bush is scheduled to speak to the nation on the economy tonight, and John McCain announced that he is suspending his campaign and hoping to postpone Friday night’s debate, to focus on the economy.

But no matter what Bush or the presidential candidates do, Buffett said the fate of the financial system is in the hands of Congress.

“The only thing that counts in the economic world today is the U.S. Congress,” Buffett said. “They hold the fate of the U.S. economy for the next few years in their hands. And I think they'll do the right thing. I have great confidence — I mean, when they recognize what the problem is, they will do the right thing. They won't do the perfect thing. Nobody can do the perfect thing.

“Later on we'll let the historians decide who to blame. I could go around saying I told you so on this or that. But it doesn't make a difference.”


http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20080926/pl_politico/13864

[still_one]

1. People should not take this lightly. A depression is not something you want /nt

[Schema Thing]

2. Warren Buffett is a stand-up guy w/o a hint of corruption

He'll be rich either way, and he's never been all-about-the-money anyway.

<P>

The country should listen to him.

[JimDandy]

4. Stand-up guy or not, Warren Buffett's investment reputation

and Berkshire Hathaway empire are riding on this bailout. Buffett DOES care about his reputation and his continuing ability to fund his philanthropic causes.

Personally, the "stand-up guy" part is a wash for me, because Berkshire Hathaway didn't honor a commitment they made to residents of a low-income family housing building who succeeded at the goals set for them. I was one of those residents. Their part of the commitment was for R.C. Willey (one of B.H.'s companies) to provide to the family, on move out, brand new furniture to fully furnish a unit of the same size as the one they had in the low-income complex (in my case, a 2-bedroom unit).

Over the two-year time period we were all given, my family was one of the few residents in that 30 unit building who actually succeeded with our goals. On move out, though, we found out that B.H. was not going to honor their part of the commitment. This all happened 16 years ago, but back then, I was struggling to to raise two boys as a single parent, and to run a new business I had recently started, so you can imagine how very disappointed we were when B.H. fell through on their part of the bargain.

I recalled that just now, because, nation-wide, the little guys are being screwed once again by the big guys in this big capitalist bargain we all live in.

[European Socialist]

3. He is a good guy, but he was wrong last year when...

he said the subprime crisis was just a bump in the road.