Buffett pushes back on pessimism, says American tailwind still intact

Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway

Warren Buffett pushed back against growing pessimism over the U.S. economy, reaffirming his long-standing belief in what he famously calls the “American tailwind.” Speaking at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting on Saturday, Buffett said while the country is always undergoing change — some of it uncomfortable — the broader trajectory remains a powerful force for progress.

“We started out as an agricultural society. We started out as a society with high promises and we didn’t deliver on it very well,” Buffett said in response to a question about whether the U.S. is undergoing revolutionary change that might require investors to rethink their assumptions.

He pointed to contradictions in the country’s founding ideals. “We said all men were created equal. Then we wrote a Constitution that said we get three-fifths,” he said, referring to the clause that treated enslaved individuals as three-fifths of a person for representation purposes. “You’ll find male pronouns used 20 times and no female pronouns used.”

Buffett noted it took until 1920 for women to get the right to vote, despite promises made nearly 150 years earlier. “So we’re always in the process of change. We’ll always find all kinds of things to criticize,” he said.

But despite the long and sometimes painful evolution, Buffett said he considers himself incredibly lucky. “The best day in my life is the day I was born. I was born in the United States,” he said. “Of all the places in the world — I mean, yeah, I’d like to say that I had something to do, you know, listen, send messages out to my parents, for God’s sakes, to move to the United States before I was born or anything. But I was just lucky.”

“I was lucky to be born pale. I was lucky to be white,” he added, bluntly acknowledging his privilege. “All kinds of things.”

Reflecting on the arc of American progress since his birth in 1930, Buffett listed off some of the major upheavals the country has weathered. “We’ve gone through all kinds of things. We’ve gone through great recessions. We’ve gone through world wars. We’ve gone through the development of... I mean, of things that nobody ever dreamt of.”

He admitted it’s easy to feel discouraged in the moment. “At times like this... it never does look like we’ve solved the big problem that’s come along,” he said.

"Still, his advice remained characteristically optimistic. “ If I were being born today, I would keep negotiating in the womb until they said you can be in the United States -- just keep negotiating — and the women do it,” he said, smiling. “You can be in the United States. We’re all pretty lucky.”