Warren Buffett: Debt-ceiling threats should be "off the table" in Washington

(CBS News) In the wake of the partial government shutdown, Americans are suddenly more worried about the economy. Two-thirds of respondents in a CBS News poll say the economy is still in bad shape, and 38 percent think it's getting worse. That's the highest number seen in nearly two years.

"CBS This Morning" co-host Charlie Rose asked Warren Buffett, the billionaire chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway, what he sees in the months ahead and if he believes the threat of a default on the nation's debt would be used again by Republicans.

Buffett told Rose that he doesn't think that particular situation will ever happen again.

"The debt ceiling is silly to start with," he said. "I mean, if you appropriate more- I mean, Congress appropriates money, and they set taxation."

He said it's Congress' job to create revenue and control expenditures and that the government spends more than it takes in, so Congress then has to raise the debt ceiling.

"It is a political weapon of mass destruction, and it's so crazy that you really don't want it- both parties should just say it's off the table," he said. "I really hope they do that after this. This gives them a great opportunity to just say, 'Listen, we've been nuts in the past. We're not gonna be nuts in the future.'"

For more of Charlie Rose's interview with Warren Buffett, watch the video in the player above.