Writing an opinion column in the New York Times, Berkshire Hathaway Chief Executive Warren Buffett has said the U.S. economy is now out of the emergency room and appears to be on a slow path to recovery. He adds: “But enormous dosages of monetary medicine continue to be administered and, before long, we will need to deal with their side effects. For now, most of those effects are invisible and could indeed remain latent for a long time. Still, their threat may be as ominous as that posed by the financial crisis itself.” He praised government action as a result of the financial crisis saying this prevented a meltdown with “a gusher of federal money playing an essential role in the rescue.” Buffett expressed concerns about the size of the deficit, however, pointing out this fiscal year it will rise to about 13 percent of G.D.P., more than twice the non-wartime record. In dollars, that equates to a staggering $1.8 trillion. “Fiscally, we are in uncharted territory,” he noted, adding that the U.S. must address the massive amounts of “monetary medicine” that have been pumped into the financial system and now pose threats to the world’s economies.
Buffett: U.S. Now on a Slow Path to Recovery
The Oracle of Omaha raises concern on the size of the U.S. deficit.
August 19, 2009