[ExI] Warren Buffett is worried too and thinks Republicans are "asinine"

[Michael LaTorra]

The way to deal with the debt is to reduce it over time, through a
combination of decreased spending and increased taxes, not by default or
repudiation. The Tea Party is concerned about the debt like an abortionist
is concerned about a fetus. Don't let those people anywhere near my baby!

Seriously, the Tea Party is the problem here. Many months ago, Boehner and
Obama reached an agreement for dealing with the debt that included just
what I said above: decreased spending and increased taxes over the long
term. The Tea Party faction (which is the tail that wags the Republican dog
these days) would have none of it. For them, taxes must only move in one
direction: toward zero. Their mindless absolutism scuttled what could have
been the solution. The Tea Party is intransigent and, frankly, not too
bright. Their rigidity combined with their stupidity just could be the
thing that sinks their ship...and ours.

And by ours, I don't mean only the American ship of state, or the nation. I
mean the global economy. If America gets the flu, the rest of the world
gets cancer. The dollar is the international reserve currency. US
government bonds and other Treasury securities are the investment of choice
for sovereign wealth funds and individual investors of means who seek to
preserve the portion of their capital that they choose not to risk on
dicier propositions.

Those financial instruments are paying very low interest rates right now;
below the rate of inflation even. But they are still considered to be the
best bet for safety because payment is guaranteed by the "full faith and
credit of the United States." That means something in an uncertain world.
But it will mean nothing if the Tea Party fanatics don't get a f*@king clue!

Sign me disgusted.


On Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 10:27 AM, spike <spike66 at att.net> wrote:

> ** **
>
> ** **
>
> *From:* extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org [mailto:
> extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org] *On Behalf Of *John Clark
> *Sent:* Wednesday, October 16, 2013 9:04 AM
> *To:* ExI chat list
> *Subject:* [ExI] Warren Buffett is worried too and thinks Republicans are
> "asinine"****
>
> ** **
>
> For those living in a fools paradise and think the failure to extend the
> debt ceiling is no big deal this is what Warren Buffett, a man who knows a
> thing or two about money, has to say on the subject:  …   John K Clark****
>
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> John everyone, even the Tea Party, agrees default is bad.  The argument is
> really about who is doing it and why we keep hitting the debt limit with
> mind-numbing regularity, as well as how to stop hitting it it and what to
> do if the lenders stop lending, which is looking like a more distinct
> possibility very day.****
>
> spike****
>
> ****
>
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>
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