Berkshire's Buffett, Apple's Jobs Join Kerry Advisers

[Iceburg]

Berkshire's Buffett, Apple's Jobs Join Kerry Advisers

By Jon Steinman

snip
May 1 (Bloomberg) -- Billionaire investor Warren Buffett and Apple Computer Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs are advising Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry on economic issues.
...

snip
Buffett, 73, who heads the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. investment company, has criticized Bush's tax cuts as ``welfare'' for the rich. Kerry wants to roll back some of Bush's tax cuts. Kerry also proposes setting up a Manufacturing Business Investment Corporation to provide money for manufacturing companies investing in new technologies, similar to a government program that helped Apple get started.

Neither Buffett, the world's second-richest man according to Forbes magazine, nor Jobs, who ranks 262 on the Forbes list of billionaires, has personally contributed to Kerry's campaign. Buffett donated last year to former Democratic presidential contenders Wesley Clark, a retired Army general, and Florida Senator Bob Graham.

Apple Computer employees since January 2003 have given a total of $7,251 to Kerry. No employees of Berkshire Hathaway made contributions to Kerry's campaign.

Buffett & Schwarzenegger

more ... http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aIzb2nc.YIIE&refer=us

[htuttle]

1. Jobs to add additional program to iLife software package

It's called iDonate.

:)

[mobuto]

3. How about iVote?

Al Gore is, after all, on Apple's board.

[mobuto]

4. Duplicate

Sorry for wasting your bandwidth.

[mobuto]

2. Responsible businessmen

I think more and more are waking up to the ugly fact that, their rhetoric to the contrary aside, Republicans are bad for business. An America integrated into the international community, an America with an educated, happy, healthy workforce, an America with infrastructure and with regulatory enforcement, these are things that companies need and Democrats offer. Republicans aren't capitalists, they're cronyists.

And the record shows this. The economy grows much faster under Democrats than Republicans. Corporate profits too.

[sandnsea]

9. Not capitalists, cronyists... That's It!!

That's what we should say over and over and over. Everybody understands (and hates) cronyism. Whether you're flipping burgers or own the franchise, everybody understands it and hates it. And the Bushies are the biggest bunch of cronyists this country has ever seen. Good one!

[AP]

5. The NYT magazine did a story about the devestation caused to a Texas town

by factories moving to Mexico and beyond. One of the corporations that caused the greatest damage after leaving was a company owned by Berkshire Hathaway.

IIRC, the article had a brief comment about how Buffet publicly criticizes that sort of corporate activity, but certainly wasn't above doing it himself when it meant profits for his corporations.

I don't say this as a criticism of Buffet, because I appreciate that you really don't have any platform to comment on or influence politics if you drive yourself to bankruptcy by refusing to do the things that your competitors do. And Buffet may be getting involved with Kerry because he's sick of having to ruin peoples lives to stay in business (thanks to a business landscape the Republicans are legislating).

However, it's probably worth noting that stuff like this happens.

[Gothmog]

6. Buffett is a class act

I have met the man and he is a quality human being and is as smart as advertised. I like the concept of Buffett being behind Kerry.

[Solidarity]

7. Which Class?

"Buffett is a class act"

Which class might that be?

[Jacobin]

11. check out his positions

He was against both Smirk tax cuts.
He is against repeal of the inheritance tax.
He loved Clinton and his policies.
He can't stand Smirk and thinks he's ruining the country.
He's against exorbitant executive pay.
He's got a lot of what used to be considered moderate dem positions which are now considered left wing.

[seasat]

15. He's against exorbitant executive pay.

I especially like his postion that stock options should be expensed for when issued. They are one of the seediest ways of compensating excutives and encourage more inflation of the stock prices than growth of the corporation. Buffet does not like to use stock options as compensation in his companies.

[FlashHarry]

12. Buffet lives down the street from me. He's a good guy.

He drives an older Volvo and lives in a nice-but-not-huge house. He's a very sensible man--a fiscal conservative and social liberal. He'll be a nice fit with Kerry. Though, he may want to temper some of his statements. While working for Ah-nuld, he blurted out that California should raise property taxes, which, though true, caused a mild uproar.

[Politicub]

8. Apple is cool

It is a company that has creativity in its DNA. Apple has always bounced back because of innovative ideas.

Innovative ideas and embracing technology are what America needs to get the country back to work. While I do think that Kerry's economic plan will create a large number of new manufacturing jobs, I don't believe that manufacturing in America will ever match it at its apex.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

10. It's nice to see that Buffett has come back from the dark side!

:wtf: was he thinking when he supported Gropenfurher last year???

:eyes:

John Kerry, now there's a REAL LEADER! Unlike that "Prop for Enron in California"!

:kick:

Kerry 04'

[bushwakker]

13. Those guys are Commies!!!

What do they know about private enterprise, economic growth and job creation?!?!?!?

[indepat]

14. Like anything left of extreme right is bleeding-heart Commie pinko

liberal?