Awake

clipped from www.bloomberg.com There’s evidence, though, that Buffett is awake to America’s problems. He says there will be no quick rebound in consumer spending, the economy has “fallen off a cliff,” and we are now “fighting a war.” Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s real- estate arm just estimated that the backlog of unsold houses is double the official figures. Buffett doesn’t enjoy watching Berkshire labor under the burden of U.S. regulations and litigiousness, pay taxes that fund expensive military commitments overseas, and struggle against the financial quicksand of the health-care system. Recently, Berkshire’s profits have been hurt by a U.S. economy with too few jobs and over-reliance on debt-driven consumer spending.