Warren Buffett: US economy isn’t as bad as 2016 candidates say

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett says he’s sick and tired of presidential candidates making bleak statements about the U.S. economy.

The Berkshire Hathaway CEO and Hillary Clinton endorser complained about the “negative drumbeat” from 2016 hopefuls in an annual letter to the holding company’s shareholders.

{mosads}“It’s an election year, and candidates can’t stop speaking about our country’s problems,” wrote Buffett. “Many Americans now believe that their children will not live as well as they themselves do.That view is dead wrong: The babies being born in America today are the luckiest crop in history.”

Buffett argued that based on the U.S. gross domestic product, economic conditions today were staggeringly better than those of his childhood. That, coupled with constant technological advancement, will lead American kids toward a bright future. 

Despite more than 60 months of private sector job growth and 4.9 percent unemployment rate, President Obama’s economic policies still face routine criticism from Republicans and some Democrats. 

Republicans argue that overbearing regulation and government interference has held growth at 2 percent of GDP, stifling wage increases and preventing many of the country’s areas hardest hit by the recession from rebounding. Democrats point to record levels of income inequality and insufficient financial sector regulation that lets big banks take advantage of middle and low-income Americans.

The stock market’s tumultuous 2016 — brought on by plunging oil prices, Middle Eastern conflict and worldwide economic uncertainty — has added to those concerns. 

But Buffett argued that 2 percent growth coupled with the country’s population growth would compound the benefits for future generations.

“For 240 years it’s been a terrible mistake to bet against America, and now is no time to start,” wrote Buffett. “America’s kids will live far better than their parents did.”