Warren Buffett Calls for Second Stimulus

(AP)
"I think that a second one may well be called for," Warren Buffett , the widely respected investor, said Thursday morning on ABC's "Good Morning America."
"Our first stimulus bill... was sort of like taking half a tablet of Viagra and having also a bunch of candy mixed in," he said, "as if everybody was putting in enough for their own constituents."
Indeed, new reports show the money from President Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus package is potentially being doled out unevenly. An analysis from the New York Times shows rural areas are receiving a disproportionate amount of funds for transportation projects.
"Two-thirds of the country lives in large metropolitan areas, home to the nation’s worst traffic jams and some of its oldest roads and bridges," the Times reports. "But cities and their surrounding regions are getting far less than two-thirds of federal transportation stimulus money."
Additionally, USA Today reports that counties that supported Mr. Obama in the presidential election have so far received twice as much money per person from the stimulus package as those that supported Republican John McCain -- though that likely has more to do with bureaucracy than politics.
"That aid — about $17 billion — is the first piece of the administration's massive stimulus package that can be tracked locally," the newspaper says. "Much of it has followed a well-worn path to places that regularly collect a bigger share of federal grants and contracts, guided by formulas that have been in place for decades and leave little room for manipulation."
Still, only a little more than 10 percent of the money has been distributed. Vice President Joe Biden will be in Cincinnati, Ohio today to highlight the progress of the stimulus. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) has criticized the slow pace at which the stimulus money is being distributed. Meanwhile, the Ohio Department of Transportation has already approved 52 stimulus-funded road and bridge projects at a cost of nearly $84 million, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
Other Republicans are taking Boehner's lead in criticizing the stimulus effort. Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) will go so far as to introduce a bill today called "Reducing Barack Obama’s Unsustainable Deficit Act," the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The bill would repeal the remaining unspent money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and recall any unobligated money authorized by the Troubled Asset Relief Program. With Democrats in charge, the bill has virtually no chance of moving forward.
Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
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See all 25 CommentsAgree to a point but you have one thing backwards. Buffet is not the rubber stamp for Obama - it's the other way around. Buffet's the billionaire, not Obama.
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Yes, but they ARE both criminals.
That makes me reluctant to criticize the system that is in place to distribute the funds, because a pretty darn reliable rule of thumb is that any position that a prominent Republican takes is going to make his friends a lot of money by doing something horrible to America.
Unfortunately Buffett is an icon that folks relate to! But he is NOTHING more than a rubber stamp for OBAMA. Buffet actually admits that the first stimulus was poorly conceived, badly planned, and even worse with the implementation. In his own words he suggested that it became a 'tool for satisying the constituentecy of politicians"..Buffets day has gone...he is now being recognized as an OBAMABAT and I wouldn't listen to anything he says...he just wants approval from the socialistic democratic party to have his place in the new WORLD order...even to support Obamna as he does makes him ANTI-GOD!
Johnny
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It took us from January 2007, when Obama and his Dems took over our government to get into "this mess". It's been nothing but downhill since then.
What is truly incredible about this article is the fact that "counties that supported Mr. Obama in the presidential election have so far received twice as much money per person from the stimulus package as those that supported Republican John McCain". LMAO...the great unifier!!!
Yes I agree; BUT!!!!!!!!
"Emissions Reduction Purchase Agreement-(ERPA)".
This agreement usually involves two countries; however, it may occur between a country and a large
corporation. BUYERS expect their carbon emission to be above the level allocated to them by the
KYOTO-Protocol, while the SELLER expects to produce less.
Often the SELLER has implemented new technology or is developing a new product that is expected to
lower its greenhouse gas emissions.
This can also translate to even more OUTSOURCING of manuf. Jobs. LESS JOBS.>>>>>>>>> (China).
Oh, wait... he is the RICH ONE! Jeeeeeez, maybe he knows what the H is going on. More so than ANYONE HERE, wouldn't you say?
Perhaps this time we can use a little of the money to create some living wage jobs
A stimulus is when the federal government transfers money from the working class to the wealthy class.
Understand the difference now?
The stimulus Morgan Buffet wants is a selfish call to stoke his money pipes so he can grab even more green. His idea of national economy doesn't go much further than his bank account.
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