Gates takes U.S. financial crisis in stride

[vta]

I'll leave it the economy minded to comment on whether or not he has a valid point...

Link

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates appeared on the NBC Nightly News Wednesday speaking with Tom Brokaw about the current economic crisis. Gates wasn't concerned about the state of the U.S. economy in the long run. Historical data would support his longer-term view, but that won't make the current disarray and uncertainty about the economy any less scary for investors riding the daily, nausea-inducing roller coaster.

Brokaw observed that Gates seemed to be cool, or not terribly worried, about the U.S. financial crisis. "The U.S. economy in the long run is going to do very, very well. There are some interesting and meaningful decisions to be made in the next weeks," Gates said. He didn't get into the details about those decisions facing Congress, but legislators and the business community are likely seeking his advice. His good friend Warren Buffet of Berkshire Hathaway is investing around $5 billion in Goldman Sachs, providing a confidence boost to the market.

As for continued technology innovation in light of the economic upheaval, Gates said, "In terms of inventing new medicines or improving software, or new ways of doing things, the level of investment will stay very high." That said, conservation of capital will be in the minds of VCs and start-ups until the economy rights itself.

Earlier in the day, Gates told Bloomberg that problems with the U.S. economy would likely reduce government support for combating the world's problems, such as poverty and disease. "There are the rich-world economies and the developing-world economies and, while the degree to which they are linked is not well understood, when one suffers it can't be good for the other. Rich-world budgets may not have room for increased generosity.''

[ScipioCowboy]

Originally Posted by vta

I'll leave it the economy minded to comment on whether or not he has a valid point...

Link

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates appeared on the NBC Nightly News Wednesday speaking with Tom Brokaw about the current economic crisis. Gates wasn't concerned about the state of the U.S. economy in the long run. Historical data would support his longer-term view, but that won't make the current disarray and uncertainty about the economy any less scary for investors riding the daily, nausea-inducing roller coaster.

So, one could reasonably argue that the underlying fundamentals of the economy are strong, correct?

[SuspectCorner]

Originally Posted by ScipioCowboy

So, one could reasonably argue that the underlying fundamentals of the economy are strong, correct?

Well according to Bush - Congress must sign off on his POS bailout plan yesterday or the universe will implode. And nobody can ever question any oversight-less move made by Paulson.

With his track record... "Sure George - we'll buy that bridge... again." How the h*** does Dubya STILL keep a straight face at this point? He's Professor Plum in the library with a candlestick. He knows it. And he knows we know it.

Helluv an actor though.

[ScipioCowboy]

Originally Posted by SuspectCorner

Well according to Bush - Congress must sign off on his POS bailout plan yesterday or the universe will implode. And nobody can ever question any oversight-less move made by Paulson.

With his track record... "Sure George - we'll buy that bridge... again." How the h*** does Dubya STILL keep a straight face at this point? He's Professor Plum in the library with a candlestick. He knows it. And he knows we know it.

Helluv an actor though.

I lean more towards the Ron Paul school of thought on this particular crisis.

[BrAinPaiNt]

Originally Posted by ScipioCowboy

I lean more towards the Ron Paul school of thought on this particular crisis.

So...let's clean this mess up and get back on the gold standard.

[Phrozen Phil]

Originally Posted by SuspectCorner

Well according to Bush - Congress must sign off on his POS bailout plan yesterday or the universe will implode. And nobody can ever question any oversight-less move made by Paulson.

With his track record... "Sure George - we'll buy that bridge... again." How the h*** does Dubya STILL keep a straight face at this point? He's Professor Plum in the library with a candlestick. He knows it. And he knows we know it.

Helluv an actor though.

He looked rather pathetic in front of the camera. He has virtually no political capital to use at this point, but he doesn't seem to know it. BTW, we're watching pretty carefully up here. The repercussions of no bail-out will have impacts world-wide, including folks up here and abroad. to reward CEO's of these companies with golden parachutes would seem to be a sticking point, but Bush has lumped those guys in with the "repsonsible investor" crowd. Not much "Responsibility" has been shown there.

I think that this will go in cycles with the urge to regulate returning, followed by the desire to "free up" the economy at at later date. Perhaps a more long-term, comprehensive view might be in order, rather than a panic-driven bail out. either way, there has to be some oversight and accountability.