BofA Savior

I’m confused. Is Warren Buffet a blue-blooded, American hero capitalist? Or is he a tax-and-spend, class-warfare socialist? This week, Mr. Buffet purchased $5 billion in Bank of America preferred stock, shoring up the company at a time when it needed a white knight to come to its rescue. Seems that Wall Street has lost faith in BofA, due in part to its bone-headed acquisition of Countrywide, a key sub-prime mortgage lender in the eye of the now three-year national economic storm referred to as the Great Recession. But not Mr. Buffet, the “Oracle of Omaha;” you don’t get to be the richest man on earth by following the crowd. He saw an opportunity. Was it shrewd capitalism that motivated his bold move? Profit motive – the invisible hand that guides our economy – was certainly in play. Some speculate that Mr. Buffet stands to make at least $300 million a year from this investment, and could earn as much as $2.2 billon before all is said and done. Bravo, sir! Well done. You “saved” a cornerstone of American finance AND made a tidy profit. If he wore a flag pin on his lapel, the Republicans just might draft Mr. Buffet to run for president in 2012. But wait, not so fast. Is this the same Warren Buffet who just two weeks ago publicly stated that the rich – people just like him – were not paying their fair share in taxes? That Warren’s secretary was paying a higher percentage of her income to taxes than he was? That the US should reinstate the Clinton era tax rates on the wealthiest Americans, making over $1 million per year? That, my friends, sounds like reckless socialism to me. And we just can’t afford to listen to irresponsible people like that.