The recent US jobs report was bleak and housing sales have failed to impress yet billionaire Warren Buffett said on Tuesday that the chances of another US recession in the near future are slim.
Buffett was speaking at the 25th anniversary dinner of the Economic Club of Washington where called the chances of another recession in the near future “very low” however he says that could change if the European financial crisis “spilled over in a big way.”
The Berkshire Hathaway Inc. CEO then voiced his continued support for the “Buffett Rule” which would tax millionaires at higher effective tax rates. Joking about the tax rule Buffett told the crowd:
“I couldn’t get a disease named after me, so I settled for a tax.”
In giving his own advice to the crowd Buffett said Republicans and Democrats need to raise taxes and cut spending. According to Buffett:
“The problem is the Democrats don’t want to talk about what expenditures they would cut and the Republicans don’t want to talk about raising revenues.”
Buffett then added:
“You’ve got to get specific about it. Just talking about reform won’t work.”
Buffett’s remarks were in line with Democrats who say Mitt Romney’s budget-cutting proposals consist mainly of broad targets but don’t include enough details about actual cuts.
President Obama has used Buffett’s support to rally supporters around his own tax plan focus on raising taxes for the rich, a plan which was defeated by the Senate in April.
Do you agree with Warren Buffett’s comments?
