OMAHA, Feb. 27 (UPI) — Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett called out the current batch of presidential candidates for their “negative drumbeat” in regards to the nation’s economy.
Buffett praised the current state of American economics in his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, and called the newest generation of Americans some of the luckiest ever.
“Candidates can’t stop speaking about our country’s problems (which, of course, only they can solve),” he wrote. “As a result of this negative drumbeat, many Americans now believe that their children will not live as well as they themselves do. That view is dead wrong: The babies being born in America today are the luckiest crop in history.”
Buffett publicly supports Hillary Clinton for president but did not target any specific candidates while lamenting about the tendency of “some commentators” to bemoan the nation’s meager 2 percent annual GDP growth.
He responded to politicians perceived negativity with a “simple math” approach that suggested even that rate could produce “astounding gains” for American families over time.
“Today’s politicians need not shed tears for tomorrow’s children,” he said.
Buffett admitted wage inequality would continue to be a problem for the country saying, “Though the pie to be shared by the next generation will be far larger than today’s, how it will be divided will remain fiercely contentious.”
He added however that even the “losing” sides of the economic spectrum will enjoy more opportunities than he and his parents ever experienced.
“For 240 years, it’s been a terrible mistake to bet against America, and now is no time to start,” he said. “America’s golden goose of commerce and innovation will continue to lay more and larger eggs.”
