QuestionerI was wondering if the current economic stresses remind you of any prior period in U.S. or any other nation's history.
WarrenWell, they're all a little different, and they all have similarities, but this one obviously had more of its origins in the mortgage field than in terms of the residential real estate bubble, but the troubles that begin in one area have a way of spreading to other areas. I think that some stupid things were done that won't be done soon again, and they won't be done exactly the same again, but variations of them will pop up at some point. Because humans are what lead to stupidity and behavior, and there are these sort of primal urges that, in terms of getting rich and using leverage and all of that sort of thing, and wanting to believe in the tooth fairy, that pop up for time to time in human behavior and sometimes they pop up on a very big scale. It was a particularly foolish mess. Now, at earlier meetings, we talked about some idiot who decided that a credit delivery grocery business, like the old Buffett store, yeah, a web van, you know, internet-based delivery service for groceries, a really assonine idea. And of course, it met. it met an ignominious failure. That was smarter than what the people did in this mortgage field. It was a lot smarter. I just wish we had those brilliant people back that gave us web van. Which, by the way, reminds me of my general attitude toward political developments. I have a rule, and it's as follows. The politicians are never so bad you don't live to want them back.