The Warren Buffett Defense League: Angrier and Angrier
There's no end to the hurrahs some folks are willing to give Warren Buffet’s record-breaking donation to Bill Gates charity. It was a lot of money! He gave it away! It must be good!
The corollary of this seems to be that scorn and bile must issue forth upon anyone who questions the conventional wisdom. Check out this graph from CJR Daily’s The Audit on a mildly critical story in the Wall Street Journal's "Heard on the Street" column.
Is it because the Journal's sources actually stand to profit from the very fluctuations they claim to fear (and profit even more if they can whip up some market hysteria with an article in a prominent business newspaper)? We can only speculate, but there is no doubt that there is a deeply cynical strain of business reporting that has come to reduce everything to numbers, seemingly blind to the reality that business affects people -- real lives that are either trampled or uplifted depending on the decisions of market players like Buffett.
Is it unfair of us to point out that what has outraged The Audit is a story indicating some possible negative effects of Buffett’s gifts? Effects on people who lead real lives, even if some of them are lived in Greenwich, Connecticut. What’s more, since Buffett’s giving hasn’t yet actually helped one person—not counting Buffett or Gates—it’s the Audit which is reducing everything to numbers, the very large numbers involved with Buffett’s charitable donations. If what matters results and effects on people’s lives, maybe we should wait until seeing how many “real lives…are either trampled or uplifted” by Buffett’s gifts before crowning Buffett with a halo or burning the heretics at the stake.
The Journal Reports That Good Deeds Are Bad [The Audit]
Comments
The Dealbreaker Warren Buffett Offensive: Ad Infinitum.
Posted by: danny_two_times | July 5, 2006 03:35 PM
it's enough already, guys. everyone loves WB and for good reason -- stop your bashing and stupidity. he's a legend, a philanthropist, and a great character, and will go down as arguably the greatest business legend ever.
Posted by: anonymous | July 5, 2006 06:53 PM
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Posted by: juan carlos | July 5, 2006 08:57 PM
Giving away so much money is a slap in the face of every estate lawyer in the country.
I know, I know -- Some lawyers pay for that sort of treatment.
But it offends my sense of the just order of things.
Posted by: Joshua S. Rubenstein | July 6, 2006 09:17 AM
I agree with " anonymous ". I love "WB"because :
a)As a Berkshire Hathaway shareholder I know that my shares will appreciate in value over time while know that my investment is safe from fraud .
b)He has his shareholders financial interests ath heart by keeping us informed through the Berkshire Hathaway website with the annual reports , aquisitions ; even letting us know when unpleasant situations arise such as the " General Re " probe.
It's CEO's with this kind of reputation and honesty (of which many on Wall Street have tried to discredit Mr. Buffett)that are lacking in the corporate world these days let alone the financial futures of those who are subjected to being at their mercy .
Posted by: Jan | July 6, 2006 08:33 PM
I agree with " anonymous ". I love "WB" because :
a)As a Berkshire Hathaway shareholder I know that my shares will appreciate in value over time while knowing that my investment is safe from fraud .
b)He has his shareholders financial interests at heart by keeping us informed through the Berkshire Hathaway website with the annual reports , aquisitions ; even letting us know when unpleasant situations arise such as the " General Re " probe.
It's CEO's with this kind of reputation and honesty (of which many on Wall Street have tried to discredit Mr. Buffett) that are lacking in the corporate world these days let alone the financial futures of those who are subjected to being at their mercy .
Posted by: Jan | July 6, 2006 08:36 PM