[Pen-l] Warren Buffett speaks to shareholders

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

“This debilitating spiral has spurred our government to take massive 
action. In poker terms, the Treasury and the Fed have gone ‘all in.’ 
Economic medicine that was previously meted out by the cupful has 
recently been dispensed by the barrel. These once-unthinkable dosages 
will almost certainly bring on unwelcome aftereffects. Their precise 
nature is anyone’s guess, though one likely consequence is an onslaught 
of inflation.

“Moreover, major industries have become dependent on Federal assistance, 
and they will be followed by cities and states bearing mind-boggling 
requests. Weaning these entities from the public teat will be a 
political challenge. They won’t leave willingly. Whatever the downsides 
may be, strong and immediate action by government was essential last 
year if the financial system was to avoid a total breakdown. Had that 
occurred, the consequences for every area of our economy would have been 
cataclysmic. Like it or not, the inhabitants of Wall Street, Main Street 
and the various Side Streets of America were all in the same boat.”

full: http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2008ltr.pdf
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