Leftfield

Book Review: Warren Buffett on Business

Agree with the author that commentary could bring in insightful perspective along with Buffet's words. Great as he has been, he is a salesman.

Also, I am partial to commentaries. When they inform and expand.

How Warren Buffett Is Smarter than the G20

Buffet, who made his fortune betting on America where he saw undervaluation, is actually hedging that this time our ship doesn't get righted. The article rightly points out that it is more of a bet on growth outside the US, with China prominent on the list.
I grew up reading of countries prospering because they were out-competitive in finished goods, not raw materials. I learned how America's freedom from the yoke of tyrants allowed the spark of inspiration to fan into flames of new and innovative industries where none had existed before.
Now we have control by oligarchs and the nanny state. We are descending into the third world. The middle class, as the article mentions, is reduced to fighting against reduced living standards, that have gone on for decades now. Our leaders are squandering everything on preserving the status quo for the oligarchs and bloated government. Only the middle class has to tighten it's belt as credit dries up.
Buffet is hedged against the strong possibility that there aren't enough Americans aware, awake and motivated enough this time to awaken to the desperately-needed change of course.

Warren Buffett and the Imaginary Economy

Every commentator has his/her own recipe here. To those who agree with massive government spending to ward off deflation as the least of the evils, I add that there is no sign of the government aiding strapped ordinary people in a meaningful way and no sign the oncoming steamroller of defaults and bankruptcies can be averted short of true Zimbabwe-style results.
Buffet is folksy but as a normal rich-and-powerful individual, his self-identity is to be rich and powerful above all else. So, he tantalizes with folksy, often misleading crumbs from his table but has no interest in rocking the boat. The founders of this country were uniquely inspired in their concern for a better society but it looks like the common people are on their own this time.

Buffett's Betrayal

I don't see any prominent American leader sticking up for average citizens. The founders risked everything on principle and now our leaders are far worse than King George III. Getting far ahead in life used to bring a sense of service to society amongst some. Now, besides Ron Paul, all I see is continued swindle.

MidAmerican’s David Sokol on Housing Market: No “Green Shoots” Yet

One of my biggest hopes is that, as I've read, younger people are very mistrustful of large, expensive, oppressive institutions. If that is true, I only hope they follow up with conviction, which can easily give way to expediency once you've acquired vested interests.
The older generations such as Gross, Buffet and Bill Gates, to pick a few scattered examples, are so used to working with ever-growing government that they don't see how it's stifled average people in the private sector during their lifetimes. They know only undreamed-of success despite the dangerous, threatening rise of government and they're well acquainted with accommodating it.
Sokol probably isn't young, but if newer arrivals to power are actually learning a healthy mistrust of government, I have hope. We need a new viewpoint in leadership more than ever as our leaders are plundering us so completely now financially and with planned additional layers of deadening bureaucracy that threaten to stifle the good in America that can save us.

2 Concerns with Michael Lewis's Review of Buffett Book 'The Snowball'

This article and comments for me was a great learning experience and example of the value of SA. I've learned of the differences between Buffet and Graham in styles and eras as well as their strange confluence in GEICO. And of the value investors who thought early '08 was the time to buy (Robert Perrego). Thanks, Soldalma and Harry Tuttle for the point about comparing apples to apples in values.
dividendgrowthinvestor brings up Buffet's integrity and example as a CEO. I ten towards the idea of Graham and Dodd Investor that this is a better era to lean towards Graham. But with the ridiculous political presence of our enormous government and the information the super rich are privy to, Buffet may be onto information that validates his timing here.

On Pensions and Tax-Exempt Bond Insurance

Decades of overpromising gov't workers by politicians who want to get through the next election has yielded the present predictable quandary. While voters have repeatedly rewarded feel-good incumbents who promise everything but responsibility, the average American in the private sector has been on a long decline.

Social Security and Medicare are shaky. Those programs need to raise retirement ages. Certainly public employees can work to a reasonable age and we can find enough lawyers to write the laws.