The first thing we do, let’s blow up some houses.
That was a cheeky suggestion by billionaire investor Warren Buffett on how to deal with the glut of housing in the US during a wide-ranging interview that covered everything from the White House’s proposed Wall Street tax to using revenue from that tax to pay for the bailout of the nation’s car companies.
“We could have a cash-for-clunkers program on houses,” Buffett joked during an interview on CNBC. “If we would blow up 3 or 4 million houses, the housing shortage would [end]” The quip came on the same day that housing starts posted a surprising drop in December — something Buffett said was good due to an oversupply of homes.
It also suggested that the 79-year-old billionaire’s support for President Obama might be wavering in the wake of some of the plans he’s unveiled during his first year in office.
Buffett blasted Obama’s plan to levy a tax on big banks to help recoup taxpayer dollars used in the country’s financial bailout, calling it a “guilt tax.”
“I just think a tax that’s enacted with the idea that the headlines will be appealing and that a certain amount of vengeance will be achieved — I don’t think that’s the greatest form of tax policy.”
He also questioned why other industries would escape the tax, a reference to the fact that the car companies, as well as quasi-government mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — all recipients of billions in bailout cash — are exempt from the tax.
“That [the big Wall Street banks] should be paying for the fact that the government lost a lot, or may lose a lot, of money in Freddie and Fannie and perhaps the auto companies . . . just doesn’t make any sense to me.”
Buffett, who owns stakes in Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo, never directly criticized Obama, and he peppered his complaints with caveats that the government has done “a good job” in its efforts to save the economy.
Still, he continued to criticize many of the actions the government has taken to get the economy back on track, including the recent stimulus package, which he called “old-style Washington.”
“If you’re going to spend close to $800 billion on a stimulus bill, it could have been done in a way that had more immediate impact,” he said.
And he agreed that this week’s special election in Massachusetts to replace the late Sen. Ted Kennedy was in fact a referendum on the White House and Congress.
“Certainly people generally in the country do not like the health care bill. I mean, whether it’s a good thing or not,” he said. “But they don’t like it. And they don’t feel good about Congress. And they feel less good about the administration than they did a year ago. And they feel like the economy is dragging on for a long time.”
Meanwhile, Buffett also pooh-poohed Kraft’s recently sweetened deal to buy Cadbury for $19 billion.
“If I had a chance to vote on it, I’d vote no,” he said. “But I don’t have a chance.” Because Kraft is using more cash than stock to buy Cadbury, Kraft investors won’t have to vote to OK the merger.
Buffett’s comments came as investors in his Berkshire Hathaway approved a 50-for-1 stock split of the Class B shares — a move that will bring the price of the stock to around $69 each from yesterday’s close of $3,476 when they open for trading today.
The stock split will allow Berkshire to purchase Burlington Northern Santa Fe. kaja.whitehouse@nypost.com