No. of Recommendations: 10
I only ever wrote him a letter once, and that was to chew him out for talking about "we" in an annual letter referring to Americans rather than to shareholders. For whom does he work? A non-American shareholder, or a non-shareholder American?
And here I think is where Mungofitch and Buffett might rationally veer apart a little bit. If you find an investor in BRK, have you found an American? Well, not necessarily but that is the way to bet.
I think Mungofitch's divestiture from things American was well described, compellingly motivated, and certainly served to wake me up and make me think. But on reflection, one of my conclusions from thinking about it is that it makes much more sense for a non-American than for an American to get out of Dodge. Trump has made it clear: Foreigners aren't even second-class citizens. And the senate of the United States has made it clear: at least for now they would rather lick Trump's boots than risk his wrath by trying to impeach him.
My own conclusion after contemplating Mungofitch was to go 1/2 to cash. But my cash 1/2 is in US Govt paper and my stock 1/2 is in US equities. I feel considerably better protected from arbitrary seizures of my property than I would were I not an American. And whatever Trump has managed to do in 100 days doesn't compare to the infrastructure of empire and hegemony we have previously built of the past 30,000 days.
To turn the a question a bit on its side, If Buffett were to ask you what a better investment environment than the US is, what would your answer be? Hard to claim Buffett is biased unless you can answer that question with somewhere better than the US, isn't it?
Trump is within about 25 senators of being done. Sure, it LOOKS like we have no checks and balances anymore because the senate has not yet convicted him in an impeachment. But if Trump could shake up the world as much as he has in less than 100 days, how long should it take for 25 senators to grow backbones and testicles under the cover of knowing there are at least 24 other senators doing the same thing? He may be the master of the deal, but in early April all it took was the sound of the world rattling the chains that connect it to the US Dollar as a reserve currency to send Trump scurrying away from crazy town with the excuse that it would only be for 90 days.
Excelsior!
Raplh
