Audience Participation

Here's a great clip of a young high-school age girl asking Warren Buffet for one investment idea at the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder meeting.

I partially covered this video in my previous post. In this post I want to cover the Bitcoin angle and statements by Munger.

Q: "If you had to pick one stock to bet on, which would you choose ... in what will likely be a very difficult market?"

Buffett A: "The best thing you can do is be exceptionally good at something. Your abilities cannot be take away from you, inflated away from you. The best investment by far in anything, is develop yourself. It's not taxed [applause]. That's what I would do."

Buffett's answer was exceptional. Let's now tune into Charlie Munger's response.

Avoiding Things That Are Stupid, Like Bitcoin

• "I've got some advice for you too. When you have your own retirement account and your friendly advisor suggests you put all of your money into Bitcoin, just say no."
• "In my life I try to avoid things that are stupid, and evil, and maybe look bad in comparison on somebody else. Bitcoin does all three."
• "In the first place it's likely to go to zero".
• "It's evil because it undermines the Federal Reserve System which we desperately need "

Buffett on Bitcoin

Quotes

• "I should not answer any questions on this subject but I will."
• "If you told me you owned all of the Bitcoin in the world and you offered it to me for $25, I wouldn't take it because what would I do with it? I'd have to sell it back to you one way or another."

I am sure his quotes will be taken out of context. In context, Buffet made an argument that's at least understandable.

He followed through with comments I disagree with about money, but at least he made statements that were understandable and debatable in contrast to total nonsense from Munger.

Importantly, Buffett made a key point on something I strongly agree with.

"Anybody that thinks the United States is going to change the way they let Berkshire Money [an imaginary crypto alternate] replace theirs [the dollar] is out of their mind."

I am a strong believer in a free market for money.

Gold has been money for thousands of years, and arguably still as central banks own it in reserves.

If Bitcoin was adopted I would accept that. But there is no free market in money.

Importantly, if Bitcoin ever threated the central banks they could and would squash Bitcoin into oblivion and it would not even be that difficult. 

Technology is Not Evil 

Calling Bitcoin evil is the same as calling technology evil. Certainly there are evil uses of Bitcoin and nuclear energy, but neither is inherently evil by themselves.

Hoot of the Month 

Although Munger had strong competition, my Hoot of the Month award goes for his ironic comment "It's evil because it undermines the Federal Reserve System which we desperately need."

Wow. Talk about ass backward. 

The Fed, fictional reserve lending, and the Fed's constant bubble blowing escapades are what's evil, not Bitcoin.

And note that my defense of Bitcoin is from someone who does not like the crypto space at all. 

In irony upon irony, Buffett and Munger blast bubbles and Bitcoin yet praise the Fed.

Buffett Quotes

• “Wall Street makes money, one way or another, catching the crumbs that fall off the table of capitalism.”
• They [Wall Street] make a lot more money when people are gambling than when they are investing.”
• Large American companies have “became poker chips” for market speculation. He cited soaring use of call options, saying that brokers make more money from these bets than simple investing.
• “It’s almost a mania of speculation,” Charlie Munger, 98.

Mania of Speculation 

There's no "almost" about this. We do have a "mania of speculation" and "poker chip" gambling because of the Fed and insane amounts of QE on top of three rounds of fiscal stimulus from Congress.

Bitcoin may be in a bubble, but unlike the Fed, Bitcoin has never caused a bubble.

The Fed has blown three major bubbles in 20 years. 

Fed Operations Look More Like a Ponzi Scheme Than Bitcoin or Ethereum

For more on my coverage of the Berkshire annual meeting, please see Warren Buffett Blasts Stock Market Gambling Casino, Loads Up on Energy Shares.

For more on the ability of governments to kill Bitcoin at will, please see Fed Operations Look More Like a Ponzi Scheme Than Bitcoin or Ethereum

The Fed is truly out of control and has been for a long time. But those who like financial bubbles and depend on them for a living are cheering for still more.