Free Buffett!

I've been a Warren Buffett fan for a long time, as have all right-thinking people. It's refreshing to see heaping schooners of cash fail to create a monster. Gives me hope for the rest of us trying to coax camels through needles.

He says he's not ill, but mortality has clearly found Warren's home phone number and is calling at dinner time, because he's cashing out.

A lot of his $44 billion estate will be flowing out of the United States, since he's giving it to Bill and Melinda Gates. An AP news story reports that $20 billion dollars was sent to Mexico from the U.S. in 2005. People already complain about how that sucks money out of our economy. I'm just spitballing, but between Buffett and Gates, a couple of 2005s worth of money will be going to India and parts of Africa in the next few years.

Why are Americans okay with rich-people philanthropy, but not poor-people philanthropy?

I'm just sorry this didn't get done sooner. Buffett says in the interview that he wanted to keep the wealth in his high-compounding hands as long as possible, rather than spend it too soon and squander earnings potential. I guess so, but I wonder what pounds of cure would have been rendered unnecessary by earlier ounces of prevention.