I am just watching Warren Buffett and Bill Gates who were on Charlie Rose a few days ago.
https://charlierose.com/videos/29774
I wanted to capture a few thoughts.
First in terms of Warren’s annual letter I mentioned a few days ago some possible topics.
Two more are why he bought airline stocks and why immigration is good.
Warren and Bill explained how immigrants have been perhaps the best import ever for America. One of the really outstanding examples was when Albert Einstein immigrated to the U.S. and helped insure that the U.S. developed the atom bomb before Germany.
Warren explained that free trade is hugely beneficial but the benefits are spread to all consumers while a relatively small percentage of people lose their jobs and it absolutely ruins their lives and we need to look after those people. And sometimes the people are too old to retrain and we need to give them an income.
Warren is sure that we are better off in aggregate and will continue to be but our economy leaves some people behind. We have to look after the people left behind as the economy becomes more specialized. Not everyone has the skills that are valued. Our economy keeps rewarding the few at the top and that is okay this will continue BUT we need to look after those left behind. Only government can do this.
Bill Gates feels that Health care is one area that America does particularly poorly compared to other countries, spending twice the GDP percentage as the U.K. for example.