What Does Warren Buffett Think of Paulson, Big Three Bailouts and Being Treasury Secretary?

Jim Jubak of MSNBC said that Paulson and his staff have been incompetent, insensitive and arrogant. He points out that Paulson asked for an emergency bailout of $700 billion to buy troubled assets. $350 billion has now been spent and not a single troubled asset has been bought. All the money has gone to recapitalize large banks, most of which were ok. He says the bailout has probably made things worse. Paulson has been a fraudulent disgrace.

I think it is impractical to expect the executives will put their networth into the company they run. Unless the company goes through bankrupcy, they all know too well that their money will burn in a second to support the company's liability on union and retired employees.

A practical way is to implement a pay system based on company performance from the top down to janitors and remove union protection shield. The base salary and benefit would be at the same level as those of Toyota and Honda with quarterly or year-end bonus if the company does well. That way they are all motivated to save company $$$ and be more productive and innovative.

In addition, these companies will need aggressive, innovative and visionary leaders who are willing to take risks like Steve Jobs for Apple, not a bunch of lazy bureaucrats, who blames the economy and everyone else for failures but themselves.

But, I will not put my money in GM's basket even if I have money or can pull money from somewhere. Let it be people's money.

If Buffett thinks that Paulson's doing a good job I would hope that he would not be considered to be the new Sec. of Treasury! Another Paulson is exactly what we don't need. Maybe Paulson is good for folks like Buffett but he's been a disaster for the average American.

I hope that a national known journalist would do a story about whether "Piercing the Corporate Veil" would apply to these 3 CEOs? Can they be held accountable for the demise of their companies? Can they be forced to “contribute” their personal assets to replenish the balance sheets of their companies?

"Under Piercing the Corporate Veil, the corporate form is used to perpetuate a fraud, circumvent a statute, or accomplish some other wrongful or inequitable purpose, the courts may decide not observe the separation of the corporate entity from its stockholders, and it may deem the corporation’s acts to be those of the persons or organizations actually controlling the corporation."

These CEOs have a fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders not to blatantly mismanage their companies to the brink of bankruptcy while paying themselves despicable salaries. They need to be held accountable for their malfeasance.

Jay Leno suggested that the bailout money go to individuals to be used for the purchase of a new car. That way the auto industry gets a shot in the arm and we all get new cars! Maybe we elected the wrong guy. Leno for President in 2012! At least his ‘State of the Union' speech will be entertaining.

OBVIOUSLY, Warren Buffet only says things that benefit Warren Buffet. The bailout ONLY helps Warren Buffet and his friends...it actualy HURTS the other 100million taxpayers who have to pay for it.

Jail for Paulson. Jail for Cox!

Seems to me that one solution for the Big 3 would be to turn them into ESOPS. Hell, the Unions basically own them now2 (at effective $77/hour wages) and have said they 'are done giving concenssi0ons.' (Based on our experience with Unions in the steel industry, there is little doubt they mean it) So, let's throw this one out there: turn the car manufactures into a huge Employee Stock Ownership Plan. This idea accomplishes a whole bunch of things. (1) you would hear a big sucking sound (to quote Perot) coming out of the product line at GM and Ford; if it is not selling or redundant then the employees would kick it to the curb; (2) this war between management and labor would go away - frankly, the Unions themselves might go away as being expensive and unnecessary; (3) there would be a revolution in how the employees are paid and their benefits; (4) there is little doubt about the pride-of-manufacturing that would suddenly come out of Detroit (they might actually start building cars as well as Toyota does); (5) there would be a huge Occam's razor to pretty much everything - pensions, health benefits, real estate holdings, job banks, waste, advertising, investments, re tooling for fuel efficiency and the list goes on. Turn these manufacturers into ESOPS and you will see massive change that is way overdue in Detroit and all of it will be politically correc

I'm amazed at all of this. First, the American worker has lost BIG TIME. They have lost their pensions, their health insurance, their homes, their dollar doesn't buy much of anything anymore. Meanwhile, we're being told that the companies that "can't afford" to give to the workers CAN afford tons of lobbyists that buy Washington, "Golden parachutes" and private jets and pay in the millions/billions for the "leaders" that have led us to this crisis. What on earth makes anyone think that what they do is worth hundreds of millions while the people that ACTUALLY work get pennies? The money for benefits IS there, it's just been redirected to the top. If the CEO cuts wages, benefits and hours, HE gets more. I dream of hell as being a place where all one's ill gotten goods are piled around them and torched - the bigger the pile the longer, hotter the burn. Should WE pay more to bail them out? Not just NO, but H*LL NO. We are the people that make THEIR jobs possible, we are the one's that ACTUALLY work and earn the money, we are the consumers. This is just what happens when greed is the operative word. ALL of these companies are headed by immoral, arrogant fools that should be tarred and feathered and marched down Main St. right AFTER we recover what we have worked hard for from their offshore non-tax paying accounts and shelters they are bought with our money to hide their plunder. These are the creatures that are turning America into a third world country. Bail out? NO WAY. The stockade YES.

This is going to be a duzzer of a depression. There are few people living that can relate to the one in the thirties, but I can and it was'nt pretty. It would have lasted much longer were it not for Pearl Harbor and world war two.
I as born the oldest of twelve kids and had to quit school & go to work at age fourteen to help support the family. I went to work for twenty cents an hr., and never looked back, never felt unpriveleged for having an eighth grade education. Married at age 20 my wife and I went to work to support our family, which came along as soon as possible. We started our own business at age 21 and have worked it for 56 yrs. We went through several major and some smaller recessions and no one ever bailed us out when the going got tough and it did get tough.

As to the auto bailout, in my opinion, it's out of the question. They must file for bankrupt statis and reorganize. There is no way they can survive without doing so. The pensions are to high and the wages are out of sight. There is no way we can expect the average $15.00 hourly wage earner to pay for their cushy jobs.

My sister is a care giver for retired executives who in their eighties are still receiving two new cars yearly along with pensions approaching 90% of there wages after being retired for twenty years. I read where there are nearly eight hundred thousand auto retirees and only three hundred fifty thousand workers supporting them. It so no wonder the big three cannot and will not be competitive.

No Pain, No Gain! Time for the CEO's to hurt too!

Congress needs to give a federal tax credit to anyone buying one of the
big automakers cars.Bigger tax credit for more fuel efficent cars,
BUY AMERICAN!

So Mr. Buffett thinks Mr. Paulson etall are doing a good job. That would be a joke but this is not funny. What about the big 3? After their response to congress last week they have no hope but bankruptcy. Those CEOs are incomptetent to run those companies.
What should we do? Use the bailout money to buy the foreclosed mortgages that have already taken place. The most importent thing is to make the Credit Default Swaps illegal, null and void. Why? The first reason is the contracts were illegal as written. The fees for the CDS were not enough to cover possable losses. That means the investment banks issueing the CDS knew they could not meet the terms of the contract that required paying the holder of the CDS in case of foreclosure of the assets covered by the CDS, in most cases mortgages.
Because many CDS were sold for each bundle of mortgages for each $1.00 in foreclosure there was $50.00 in CDS obglations. It is so much money it will and is bankrupting the world. Unless this debt is wiped out what we do with the auto makers will make no change. There will be no money to buy a car or loaf of bread. We need to wake up! Or it will take a generation for the world to recover.

What does Warren Buffett feel for the millions of Americans who will lose jobs, when unemployment rises to 8% or higher? He feels nothing of course. He has never done any true work in his life. I value a competent airline pilot or surgeon or tradessman far above him.The American workers have been exploited for decades.People should be thrifty and not rely on handouts,but they should not be impovrished by a system that allows financial manipulators to obtain obscene wealth. There is enough wealth in the world for everyone`s need but not for everyone`s greed and that includes the poor in India and Africa.We don`t want socialism or communism but traditional capitalism has failed and must be reformed.