Charlie Munger: ‘The Phone Is Not Ringing Off the Hook’
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Re: Charlie Munger: ‘The Phone Is Not Ringing Off the Hook’
#2I think the challenge here is the government is probably offering better terms than can be expected from Buffet. If someone is offering me free money, and someone will give me money if I give them control of my company guess which one I'm calling first.
Re: Charlie Munger: ‘The Phone Is Not Ringing Off the Hook’
#3Re: Charlie Munger: ‘The Phone Is Not Ringing Off the Hook’
#4This quote from Munger is what I find most interesting:
> I do think, sooner or later, we’ll have an economy back, which will be a moderate economy. It’s quite possible that never again—not again in a long time—will we have a level of employment again like we just lost. We may never get that back for all practical purposes. I don’t know.
There are roughly 2 ways this could go if what he says actually happens. One is that a lot more people are going to suffer economically because of a lack of employment. The other, which is what I'm hoping for but not expecting, is that we take this opportunity to acknowledge that Keynes was right, and we don't have to work as much as we do. If we can strengthen our social safety net so that being out of work does not necessarily imply falling deeply into poverty (not that being unemployed should necessarily be a great deal, just that folks shouldn't be losing their homes and their health insurance, and should still be able to lead a fairly basic life), then I think this whole crisis might have a silver lining.
Re: Charlie Munger: ‘The Phone Is Not Ringing Off the Hook’
#5I think the challenge here is the government is probably offering better terms than can be expected from Buffet. If someone is offering me free money, and someone will give me money if I give them control of my company guess which one I'm calling first.
I wonder if that means Berkshire's recent bond offering was a mistake: https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/04/12/this-warren-buffet...
Berkshire has always held a ton of cash for just such an occasion. They can just buy up equity on the open market and take substantial control of a company. But, did they need even more money?
Re: Charlie Munger: ‘The Phone Is Not Ringing Off the Hook’
#6I think the challenge here is the government is probably offering better terms than can be expected from Buffet. If someone is offering me free money, and someone will give me money if I give them control of my company guess which one I'm calling first.
I wonder if that means Berkshire's recent bond offering was a mistake: https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/04/12/this-warren-buffet... Berkshire has always held a ton of cash for just such an occasion. They can just buy up equity on the open market and take substantial control of a company. But, did they need even more money?
It was the right decision at the time. It's unlikely anyone could've predicted the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Dept would've stepped in with unlimited support before the recent self-imposed economic collapse.
Re: Charlie Munger: ‘The Phone Is Not Ringing Off the Hook’
#7This quote from Munger is what I find most interesting: > I do think, sooner or later, we’ll have an economy back, which will be a moderate economy. It’s quite possible that never again—not again in a long time—will we have a level of employment again like we just lost. We may never get that back for all practical purposes. I don’t know. There are roughly 2 ways this could go if what he says actually happens. One is…
The whole idea that 'being social' equates to 'socialism', the bogeyman edition is what will stop for instance the United States from adopting a more social agenda. Free - or at least affordable - public healthcare, public transportation, internet access and access to things like clean water should be a basic standard of living for any country that does not want to be labelled 'third world'. Instead, that whole agenda has been hijacked by parties that make it seem as though being nice & normal to your fellow human beings is somehow a bad thing because once upon a time someone else had an ideology that shared the same prefix.
Re: Charlie Munger: ‘The Phone Is Not Ringing Off the Hook’
#8I think the challenge here is the government is probably offering better terms than can be expected from Buffet. If someone is offering me free money, and someone will give me money if I give them control of my company guess which one I'm calling first.
The US government as considered taking equity stakes, too.
https://www.marketplace.org/2020/03/20/covid19-financial-bai...
Re: Charlie Munger: ‘The Phone Is Not Ringing Off the Hook’
#9This quote from Munger is what I find most interesting: > I do think, sooner or later, we’ll have an economy back, which will be a moderate economy. It’s quite possible that never again—not again in a long time—will we have a level of employment again like we just lost. We may never get that back for all practical purposes. I don’t know. There are roughly 2 ways this could go if what he says actually happens. One is…
The whole idea that 'being social' equates to 'socialism', the bogeyman edition is what will stop for instance the United States from adopting a more social agenda. Free - or at least affordable - public healthcare, public transportation, internet access and access to things like clean water should be a basic standard of living for any country that does not want to be labelled 'third world'. Instead, that whole agend…
The USA is effectively 50 countries with different demographics, geography, culture, and needs. Trying to impose any “one size fits all” solution won’t work because it’s not appropriate for a significant number of them.
Re: Charlie Munger: ‘The Phone Is Not Ringing Off the Hook’
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wonder if that means Berkshire's recent bond offering was a mistake: https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/04/12/this-warren-buffet... Berkshire has always held a ton of cash for just such an occasion. They can just buy up equity on the open market and take substantial control of a company. But, did they need even more money?
It was the right decision at the time. It's unlikely anyone could've predicted the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Dept would've stepped in with unlimited support before the recent self-imposed economic collapse.
They announced their intention to offer bonds in late March, well after it was generally known that the government intended to step in.