Warren Buffett talks about how America’s incredible days are over at the 2023 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. Buffett is the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, a holding company that owns hundreds of various businesses. This gives Buffett a unique look into the health of the US economy. In recent years, the United States (US) economy had been incredibly strong. However, in recent months, the companies that Berkshire owns have seen their business slow, which is reflected in their financial performance. Many people believe the US is headed for a recession as Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve (Fed) increase interest rates in order to combat inflation.
America’s incredible days are over. Those aren’t my words. This is coming directly from legendary investor Warren Buffett. At 92 years old, let’s just say Buffett knows a thing or two about what it’s like seeing an economy shift from boom times, into a recession. Buffett is also CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, a holding company that owns hundreds of different businesses and employs nearly 400,000 people. The CEO job at Berkshire gives Buffett an inside look at the health of the economy, and spoiler alert, he’s not liking what he’s seeing. Make sure to stick around to the very end of this video to hear what Warren Buffett recommends you do to protect yourself from the economic dangers that lie ahead. Here’s Buffett going through his company’s financials and how it is flashing warning signs for the economy.
According to Buffett, the last few years had been some of the strongest economic times in his nearly 100 year life. In order to prevent a complete economic collapse in the Spring of 2020, the US government and Federal Reserve took some drastic steps to stimulate the economy. Stimulus bills approved by Congress unleashed the largest flood of federal money into the United States economy in recorded history. Roughly $5 trillion went to households, mom-and-pop shops, restaurants, airlines, hospitals, local governments, schools and other institutions around the country. Those that lost their job received the normal unemployment benefits along with an additional $600 a week. Individuals making less than $75,000 a year, or $150,000 for married couples, were sent multiple stimulus checks that combined added up to be worth thousands of dollars. Those with student loans also had their monthly payments paused. Considering the fact that there is approximately 1.6 TRILLION dollars of student debt in the country, that was saving people hundreds of dollars a month in payments. All of these unprecedented actions lead to one thing, US consumers having more money in their pockets. US consumers love to spend money and spend money they did. This fact, coupled with the Fed cutting interest rates to zero, led to a TON of money floating around in the economy.
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