Warren Buffett is confident that U.S. lawmakers will take care of the fiscal cliff before it hits, even if so many other people aren’t. Buffett was interviewed today on BBC Radio 4’s “Today” show by Melinda Gates, Bill Gates’ wide and the show’s guest editor. He said, “In the end, 535 people in Washington will not thwart the wishes of 312 million Americans.”
Buffett also called the cliff “manmade” and said that we’ve “overpromised” and “under-taxed to some extent.” But he also said that America is a wealthy nation that will be able to overcome the fiscal cliff.
“America has faced much tougher problems than this, and we’ll get them solved,” Buffett said.
Meanwhile the clock counts down on the fiscal cliff, a package of tax increases and spending cuts that will take effect on Jan. 1 if lawmakers do not make a deal to prevent it.
Forbes lists Buffett as the third wealthiest person in the world, and he has continued to invest in the American economy even when things were at their worst. He used his “personal money” to invest in 2008 and became even richer when the markets took off again a year or two later.
He also predicted that long term, women will make a great impact on the economy. He said that in the past, women were not extended the same opportunities that they are today. “I see how far we’ve come using only half the talent in the country and now we’re getting to the point that we are using 100 percent,” Buffett said. “It makes me optimistic, but we still have a way to go.”
