Warren Buffett (pictured to the left), one of the richest men in the world, predicted that unemployment would sink down the the low 7% range by the end of 2012.
He also expressed optimism for the future of America, saying he was seeking more acquisitions. He also said that the stimulus money did the job it was supposed to do. Stimulate the economy.
What does that mean? Election time is right around the corner again. And the chief beneficiaries of this prediction: The Democrats, of course.
As we inch closer to Election Day 2012, all the seeds planted since early 2009 are beginning to sprout in what could be a good harvest. I take that back, a great harvest.
Warren Buffett was interviewed today on CNBC in which he discussed a wide variety of economic subjects including the direction of the unemployment rate.
Warren Buffett predicted on CNBC today that unemployment would reach the "low 7" percent range by the 2012 Presidential election.
Buffett also believes that the stimulus spending should be reduced or halted, but not for the same reason that many Republican and Tea Partiers believe it should be reduced or stopped. And the reasoning they give is that it is too expensive. But as President Obama has said consistently, we couldn't afford not to spend the stimulus money.
And now, as Buffett explains, the mission was accomplished. The latest ADP report shows continued improvement in the employment rate.
The ADP National Employment Report showed 217,000 private sector jobs were added to U.S. payrolls in February.
That topped the Reuters consensus forecast for growth of 175,000 jobs.
The President's stimulus plan is not only is working, it has worked, and is no longer needed, according to Buffett, because it achieved its goal and purpose.
On Squawk Box this morning, Buffett said that "the government really did its job there in the fall of 2008" at the height of the credit panic, but now "I don't think we need as much monetary or fiscal stimulus as is going on."
Asked specifically if the Federal Reserve should end the QE2 program that has it buying billions in assets to keep rates low, Buffett replied, "Yeah. I have enormous respect for (Fed Chairman) Ben Bernanke. He knows way — you know, he knows more about the Fed than I do by a factor of 100 to one. But in the end, I don't — I don't think we need more of that now."
On the fiscal side, Buffett points to government spending at 10 percent of GDP. "We have massive stimulus going on in the United States. Stimulus like you haven't seen since World War II. We just don't call it a stimulus bill."
That's why he's been "optimistic on America right along," even back in 2008, "when I knew things were going to go to hell." Buffett has been buying, while many investors and traders were afraid to tread water. The market has shown a substantial increase since March of 2009, when it hit its low. The market has since been rallying.
This is great news for President Barack Obama who assumed the President in a time of deep financial crisis. Without the action he took, history will show, our economy would have sunk deeper into the crisis. The Republicans were critical of Democrats during the 2010 campaign and were successful in the area of getting out that message about Democrats, but it had no basis in fact. The economy was continually improving, with the job number being a laggard indicator.
As the 2012 Election season rolls around, it is also obvious the Republicans cannot pull it together. Thus far, no candidates have announced for President on the Republican side. Newt Gingrich was ready to announce an exploratory committee, but that announcement is now delayed. Senator John Thune is out because he correctly assessed that Obama cannot be defeated. I am not going to say (because I learned my lesson) that he is unbeatable or inevitable in 2012, but he is awfully close to that assessment.
The Republicans that do announce for President, will be beating up on each other in Iowa and New Hampshire throughout the late summer and fall of 2011, while the President gets to act Presidential. Pulling it all together. Each month taking credit for improving economic numbers (and rightly so).
And not just the Presidential candidates. What about all those new members of Congress that promised this and promised that and have yet to achieve anything. The Senate will be tough to hang onto just because of the sheer number of Democratic seats that are up, but I also believe we will be discussing Speaker Nancy Pelosi once again.
The wind is at our backs once again.
JOHN PRESTA IS THE AUTHOR OF "MR. AND MRS. GRASSROOTS: HOW BARACK OBAMA, TWO BOOKSTORE OWNERS AND 300 VOLUNTEERS DID IT." CONTACT HIM AT JOHNPRESTA@ATT.NET.
John is the author of an award-winning book, the 2010 Winner of the USA National Best Book award for African-American studies, published by The Elevator Group Mr. and Mrs. Grassroots: How Barack Obama, Two Bookstore Owners, and 300 Volunteers did it. Also available an eBook on Amazon. John is also a member of the Society of Midland Authors and is a book reviewer of political books for the New York Journal of Books