Posted on 01/02/2020 10:41:26 PM PST by aquila48
"Legendary investor and Berkshire Hathaway founder and CEO Warren Buffett said it’s high time companies stop acting as moral arbiters, social activists and SJWs — social justice warriors — and instead focus their efforts on their primary responsibility: making money for their shareholders.
This comes alongside the announcement that Berkshire Hathaway is pouring about $30 billion into wind turbines and infrastructure in Iowa. The plan, according to Buffett, is to turn the state into “the wind capital of the world, the Saudi Arabia of wind.”
Among the corporate consensus these days is a call to be “doing well by doing good,” with companies claiming — sincere or not — to want to be more socially active.
But the idea of turning Iowa into the wind capital of the world isn’t built out of some moral quest against fossil fuels for Buffett to impose his idea of “doing good” on society, not at all. For the Oracle of Omaha, its about doing what is best by his shareholders.
“We wouldn’t do (it) without the production tax credit we get,” Buffett told Financial Times.
Last year, Buffett also told the Financial Times it’s wrong for companies to impose their ideas of doing good in society because how do they know their idea of “doing good” is actually, well, good?
“It’s very hard to do. If you give me the 20 largest companies, I don’t know which of the 20 behaves the best, really. I’ve been a director of 20 publicly owned (companies) and I think it’s very hard to evaluate what they’re doing, it’s very, very hard. I like to eat candy. Is candy good for me or not? I don’t know.”
Better late than never.
But he better brace himself - the SJWs don't take kindly to being dissed.
Well, I’ll agree with him on that.
Sadly, his fellow travelers don’t give a fig what he thinks, and having given them power, he’s at their mercy just like everyone else now.
Or back the party that has produced your profits? Nah, couldn't do that.
This from the man who blew a billion dollars trying to run up the price of gasoline in 2008 (an election year).
https://www.cnbc.com/id/29441086
Warren Buffett Tells Shareholders He Did “Some Dumb Things” In 2008
Alex Crippen | @alexcrippen
Published 8:06 AM ET Sat, 28 Feb 2009
The mistake of commission: buying a large amount of ConocoPhillips stock just as energy prices were near their peak. Buffett writes, “I in no way anticipated the dramatic fall in energy prices that occurred in the last half of the year.” He still thinks oil will eventually go well above its current $40-$50 range, “but so far I have been dead wrong.”
Even if energy prices do rise, “The terrible timing of my purchase has cost Berkshire several billion dollars.”
Buffett and his pretense of “moral activism” helped create the mess.
Buffett needs to sit down and shut up.
We can’t argue with his money but he can argue with ours.
He’s been bragging for years that he is big on wind only due to govt subsidies that make wind profitable.
The plan, according to Buffett, is to turn the state into “the wind capital of the world, the Saudi Arabia of wind.”
Wouldn’t that be the “USA of wind”. Windbag Buffet?
“We wouldn’t do (it) without the production tax credit we get,” Buffett told Financial Times.
At least he’s honest.
In other words, it’s not profitable without the taxpayers’ help.
But it hasn’t been taxpayer money for a long time.
If taxpayers are the country, then we are all in 22 trillion dollars’ debt.
And who in their right mind would base their business decisions on getting money from someone who’s in 22 trillion dollars’ debt?
I’m gonna have to call some BS on half your comment.
Buffet is definitely right about the SJW stuff.
But, he let the cat out of the bag, when he said...... “We wouldn’t do (it) without the production tax credit we get,” Buffett told Financial Times.
So, somewhere in his plan, he knows he can make a ton of money of the taxpayer and funnel it to his shareholder. He’s identified to take what is failed technology and pipe dreams of the Left and environmentalist’s, and will use the power and resources of government to line his pockets, and those of his shareholders, and the US taxpayer will be left holding the bag.
Have the President tweet out that he’s going to have the DOE take another look at the tax credits and reconsider tax payer monies being forked over for no reason, and we’ll see how enthusiastic Buffet and the rest are.
Pure BULLSH*T!!!
He made many fortunes by buying businesses, then bribing the government to change laws or subsidize them.
He bought a bunch of train companies then tried to shut down every pipeline he could find. Friggen lowlife.
I didn’t know that.
But it sound about right.
Profit was always his motive
“And who in their right mind would base their business decisions on getting money from someone who’s in 22 trillion dollars’ debt?”
Apparently thousands of companies do... cause that someone with the huge debt also has a printing press.
And not just companies, but millions of individuals who own treasuries think they’ll get the interest and principal that the government owes them.
Here’s a brief example...https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Trump-Angers-Buffett-To-Sign-Executive-Orders-On-Keystone-Dakota-Pipelines.html
“Profit was always his motive”
As it should be for any company - legally earned profit.
Let’s see, 30 billion is 2 1300 megawatt nuke plants that will run night and day for 2 years without refueling for at least 50 years. And Warren is such a genius??
As a BRK shareholder, profit is what I want his motive to be. He’s running a business. If he starts being motivated by something other maximizing long-term profits, he should step down and turn over the reins to one of his young whippersnapper lieutenants... like 96-year-old Charlie Munger.
Well I guess our GDP is a huge number and heck, Japan is at 200 percent debt to GDP.
But it all just seems like a house of cards to me sometimes.
Wow.
I’m glad he got screwed.
But overall, under Trump, he must be making a fortune, no?
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