Warren Buffett: $700 Billion Bailout Necessary

Seventy-eight-year-old financial genius Warren Buffett called the $700 bill U.S. financial bailout plan “absolutely necessary.”

Appearing on CNBC, Buffett said, "We were very, very close to a system that was totally dysfunctional, and would have not only gummed up the financial markets but gummed up the economy in a way that would take us years and years to repair," Buffett said, referring to recent events.

Buffett said, he hoped Republicans and Democrats would put their election-year differences aside and support the plan. "Republicans and Democrats, they've got the interest of the country at heart, and I think that they will do the right thing, but I hope they'll do it soon," Buffett said.

Source: Reuters News, Jonathan Stempal (09/24/2008)