Warren Buffett has dispelled worries that the federal government could be pushed into loan default if Congress doesn’t increase the debt limit. In a previous stalemate, he went even farther, calling the conflict a stupid waste of time and demanding that the borrowing cap be completely abolished.
At his company’s annual shareholder meeting this month, the renowned investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway said that lawmakers “aren’t going to let the debt ceiling cause the world to go into turmoil.” The situation will alter.
Buffett emphasized how foolish it would be for politicians to allow the government to run out of money during the debt-ceiling debate in 2011.
According to CNBC’s Warren Buffett Archive, he commented, “It would probably be the most asinine act that Congress has ever performed.”
The multibillionaire businessman contrasted the notion’s ridiculousness to the Indiana Pi Bill, a measure that would have simplified things by changing the value of the irrational number Pi to 3.2. The state’s Senate continued it indefinitely after the state’s House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved it in 1897.
A debt ceiling, according to Buffett, was never necessary since America can borrow more money as its economy expands.
He said, “Having a debt ceiling to start with is a mistake,” before adding that it may not be preferable for America’s debt to increase as a proportion of its GDP.
He bemoaned the political stalemate in Washington at the time, saying, “These games get played, and all the time that gets wasted, and the number of silly statements you hear.” It simply seems like such a waste of time for a nation with so much to accomplish.