This is a live blog archive of Warren Buffett's appearances on CNBC's Squawk Box on Monday, March 9, 2009.

Buffett answered questions submitted by CNBC viewers and CNBC.com users.

All times are Eastern.

5:59a: The program begins with Becky Quick in Omaha.  They are sitting in the Nebraska Furniture Mart, a Berkshire retailer.  He says he's happy to be there, except "for the hour."

6:00a: Becky asks Buffett about the economy, but before he can answer Joe breaks in with the news that Merck and Schering-Plough are merging in a $41 billion deal.

6:01a: Buffett says he's "surprised by any deal of this size" since its so tough to make deals right now.  he says the drug deal could prompt other companies to try to make deals.

6:04a: Back to the economy.  "There's been a reset in people's minds."  More people are looking for lower prices, which is helping Berkshire's Geico insurance operations, but hurting its jewelry retailers.

6:05a: Economy is "close to the worst case."  Can't imagine it being much worse, but if the Fed hadn't stepped in last September it would indeed have been worse. The economy "has fallen off a cliff."

6:06a: Buffett says consumers are "scared and confused."  He hasn't seen consumers, or Americans in general, as fearful as now.  American people "feel they don't know what's going on" so they've pulled back.  Nature of government makes it hard to send consumers a clear message about what Washington is doing, but government will play a huge role in the recovery.

6:09a: We are in a very very vicious feedback cycle.  Things will get better, eventually.  Just a question of how long it takes.  But America has always pulled together in the past and will do it again.

6:10a: Buffett again compares economic situation to the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.  America put aside "partisan stuff" then and should do so again.  "We knew if we stuck together and followed leadership, we would prevail."

6:11a: "You can't turn around on a dime."  Many people are scared about losing their jobs and it is affecting their behavior, even if they wind up not losing their jobs.

6:12a: The "great economic machine" is sputtering.  It's a job to get it working again.  Unemployment will lag at the end.  It will "probably go a fair amount higher" than the current 8 percent.  But five years from now, the economy will have recovered.

6:13a:  Buffett criticizes Democrats for adding "earmarks" and pet spending to economic recovery legislation.  Republicans need to work for the common good and Democrats need to stop themselves from trying to "jam in" a lot of spending.  There should be "no finger pointing at all."  "No vengeance, just look forward."

6:16a: Commercial break.  Your emails to come.

6:21a: Both Democrats and Republicans need to work together to solve the nation's economic problems.  neither side should be trying to take advantage of the situation.

6:22a: Inflation has the "potential" of being worse than it was in the 1970s.  There are no "free lunches" but there are some lunches you need to have even if you'll pay for it later.

6:24a: Ratings agencies believed, like everyone else, that house prices would continue to rise.  They made a mistake.

6:25a: Would help if government's policies to help economy were better communicated.  We have a system that can help the banks and most banks are in "pretty good shape."

6:32a:  Buffett says credit conditions are tightening again, but aren't as bad as they were last September.  The government has to "speak with real clarity."

6:36a:  Buffett repeatedly compares the economic situation to Pearl Harbor, and suggests that government needs to react in the same unified way to the current challenge as it did in World War II.

6:38a: FDIC has been a "huge factor" in boosting confidence in U.S. banks, and confidence is essential to the functioning of the economic system.  A banks that needs to go broke should be allowed to "go broke."  Shareholders in banks can lose their money, but depositors should not.  We have to make it very clear that people aren't going to lose their money that's deposited in banks.

Emailer asks, "Will everything be all right?"  Buffett's strong answer: Yes, everything will be all right.  We have a free-market system that unleashes human potential and we are "far from done."  "The machine gets gummed up from time to time" but we go forward.

Buffett: there are similarities to the 1930s and there are differences.  One similarity is that there was a lack of trust in banks.  Now we have a system that backs up the banks, but people don't believe in the system.  It needs to be better communicated.

6:50a: Obama speaks wonderfully.  Still it needs to be "made as clear as possible" that no one should worry about losing their deposits in a U.S. bank and the President is the person to send that message.

6:51a: Buffett says the financial system was within days or hours of collapse last September.  The Fed's "wise, prompt action" to support the commercial paper market and money market funds prevented disaster.

6:53a: "Patriotic Democrats and patriotic Republicans should realize this is a war."  Once everyone realizes how serious it is, they will behave well.  Both sides need to work together.  He refuses to blame one party more than the other.

6:54a: "The American banking system, overall, is too big to fail."  Hate to say it, but that is the case.  We have to deal with all quasi-financial institutions whether technically a bank or not.

6:55a: "We need banks to get back to banking."  Financial institutions can't always show smooth earnings growth.  Eventually you're going to cheat.  Banks are in a good position.  They will "earn their way out of this" given the low cost of funds right now.  Money is "cheap, abundant, and the spreads are terrific."

6:57a:  People shouldn't worry about banks making too much money.  The nation should be focused on what needs to be done.

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