if he was expecting a depression he wouldn't be buying goldman sacks and GE he would wait nonetheless he is an idiot for saying this and buying those two compnaies at the same time and contradicting himself
If he thought there were odds-on favorites there'd be a depression, he exactly be buying those entities, such as Goldman (which just so happened to convert itself into a 'commercial bank' so as to grab its piece of that government largess that is the 'bailout' package), that will be absolutely essential parts of every person's survival: loans, money, fiat, working capital - food! JP Morgan did this with railroads, among other infrastructure plays, and Rockerfeller did it with Standard Oil, during past economic crises in the world. Goldman will thrive and concentrate its wealth and power as more and more national, regional and local banks collapse. Look to buy that which provides that which is absolutely essential when times get hard. This is what Buffet did with Goldman Sachs. And he bought a highly valuable, preferred stake at that. So, Goldman is too big to fail, and will thrive for the next hundred years. Buffet has probably leveraged his 5 billion into 500 billion as an appreciating investment. Don't try that at home unless you get 'preferred creditor' status that preferred issuances provide.
Geico cannot make having health insurance compulsory. The government can. Furthermore, if the government did get into the insurance business it could potentially be a big competitor so I don't see how encouraging it to necessarily helps Buffett's business.
We are the only developed nation that does not have nationalized healthcare. What does that mean? I understand the argument that we have the best doctors, that foreigners come here, no excessive wait lines for procedures and operations, etc... But we also have to compete with foreign corporations that don't directly pay for health insurance. Our corporations are saddled with health insurance costs. And small business? Well, that cost is prohibitive - try starting your own business while insuring your family - try hiring talented employees without offering health benefits. I know many people that would prefer to have their own business but work for a fortune 500 instead for the health benefits. And while we point out that many foreigners come here for our advanced healthcare, how many Americans go abroad for cheaper healthcare? How many go to Cananda for cheaper drugs? It's more common than you think. And what about the poor? Well, hospitals can't turn them away, and some people even game the system and hide their assets to get free healthcare. Many hospital systems are functionally bankrupt. The profit motive is important in commerce - but when it comes to healthcare, that profit motive has a lot of unintended consequences. Buffet's concern about healthcare is not an empty and naive altruistic concern, but one also based on economics and making America more competitive. Right or wrong, the argument has merit, just as the opposing view does. And by the way, as unemployment skyrockets due to this crisis and our long standing policy of unfettered outsourcing - watch for even more people to become uninsured. I can only imagine what burden already financially weak hospitals will have to take on as they treat more and more uninsureds. The health system too, will teater on bankruptcy. We effectively nationalize the banking system at the blink of an eye just as executives run off with multimillion dollar packages and historically phenomenal bonuses - but healthcare for the average Joe - well, that's just gonna have to wait.