Genuine Disingenuousness

There's things going on behind her back
Oh, they'll give you a heart attack
--Flesh for Lulu

On the heels of yesterday's release of Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder letter, I was chatting w/ friends and family about some of Warren Buffett's commentary. Characteristically, my commentary turned negative. It is no secret that I have soured on this man's approach over the past few years, and these pages have recorded such.

I do not like disingenuous behavior. In my view, WB's 'aw shucks' reputation serves as a disingenuous facade. For example, in his recent letter, Mr Buffett rails against the 'ugly result' of government policies that debase the value of money. He notes:

"Systemic forces will sometimes cause them [governments] to gravitate to policies that produce inflation. From time to time such policies spin out of control." (p. 17)

Were this of real concern to WB, he is in a strong position to do something about it--particularly given his cozy relationship w/ the Obama administration. For example, he could use his editorial page power to note how existing monetary policies serves to gut the wealth of savers, particularly older people. He could observe how these policies widen the divide between rich and poor. He could testify before Congress that central bank policies are destroying the value of the dollar and shouldering future generations with unworkable levels of debt.

But he doesn't.

Instead, he has used the media platform to condone such policies, suggesting that people should thank their lucky stars for the interventionary policies of Ben Bernanke & Co.

Even the most superficial review of Berkshire's business model finds a leveraged entity that depends on inflation. This model has been a beneficiary of government's interventionary policies to the tune of eleven or twelve figure size since 2008.

Crony capitalism at its finest.

That, my friends, is what irks me. WB could use his influence to make the system better. Instead, his behavior reinforces what is wrong with the system.