Warren Buffett Watch
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The U.S. Dollar, China & Acme Brick: Ask Warren Transcript - Part 7
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Executive Producer
BUFFETT: Well, there's all kinds of green technology that makes sense, sure. We're using it in carpet, I mean, and insulation, all kinds of things, sure.
KERNEN: But Warren, Warren...
QUICK: A lot of--oh, go ahead.
KERNEN: ...is it really called Acme Brick, Warren? I mean, is that--that--is that's like the coyote bought something and put it up on a ledge when the Road--and it was Acme Brick wasn't it that--is it really called Acme Brick? Is that a joke?
BUFFETT: Acme Brick is probably the best-known brick in the United States. If you go to Texas and you ask people to name a brick, they will name Acme. And try doing that in New York and see what they come up with.
KERNEN: Yeah, I thought you were--I thought you were joking. I thought...
BUFFETT: It's very hard...
QUINTANILLA: I think they also sell those holes that you put down on the ground and they create a hole in the ground.
KERNEN: I think that these can suspend in midair, too, and if you pull--if you look over you don't fall till you look over. Sorry.
BUFFETT: We guarantee our brick for our 100--we guarantee our brick for 100 years, Joe.
KERNEN: All right. After three hours, I'm sorry, that's my only--that's the only one I've done. But I think--I love cartoons. All right, go ahead.
BUFFETT: I'll mail--I'll mail you a brick--I'll mail you a brick as a birthday present.
KERNEN: Send me an...
QUINTANILLA: Throw it in the window.
KERNEN: You know, that's about what I'd expect you to send me. What is that worth, about 12 cents, one brick? Probably.
BUFFETT: Well, I'll say closer to 32 cents.
KERNEN: Thirty-two cents.
QUICK: Thirty-two cents, there you go.
KERNEN: Thirty-two cents. Thank you.
BUFFETT: Yeah, we'll send it COD.
QUICK: That costs a lot to--cash on delivery. Nice. Warren, a lot of people wrote in about jobs, though. That is a huge issue that people are focused on.
BUFFETT: It is.
QUICK: Brian Howe in Boston, Massachusetts, says, "Many economists have indicated that we will have a jobless recovery. How is that possible with unemployment at 10% and underemployed adding another 10% to 15% to that undervalued statistic?" You can quibble with the math on that, but you are talking about some very high numbers. It would seem to me that the drag of nonworking, underemployed people at that high rate would significantly hold any recovery at bay.
BUFFETT: That's the problem. That's what, you know, Keynesianism addresses the fact that you need--you need to feed in demand from government. But we will--the jobs--the jobs will come back, but they're not--it's not going to be fast, Becky. I mean, we will have more people employed in the carpet business three years from now than we have now. We'll have more people employed in the brick business three years from now than now. But not necessarily six months from now.
QUICK: Another question on this same subject is from Nick Adena in Lebanon, Tennessee, who says, "How do we correct the massive bleed-off in blue-collar jobs specifically? If those people don't work then they can't spend." Same question.
BUFFETT: Yeah, it's a terrible spiral and, you know, we--in the 1980s we said we were going to lose all our jobs, you know, to Germany and Japan and, you know, in the next 10 or 15 years we created 20 million jobs. You don't know where they're coming from. And when this country--if you go back a couple hundred years you had 90 percent of the people on farms. And if you'd said somehow looking at--you had a crystal ball and said 200 years from now we'll get all of this food produced for 3 or 4 percent of the people you'd say, you know, the country's going to fall apart. But things happen. I mean, we are a creative people, and we'll continue to be a creative people.
QUICK: All right. Why don't we go ahead and take a quick break. When we come back, we'll have more of your e-mails for Warren Buffett, so stick around. SQUAWK BOX will be back right after this.
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