Interview with Prem Watsa

[StubbleJumper]

 

For forum participants who do not regularly read Canadian newspapers, the following is an interview with Prem from one of Canada's largest dailies:

 

https://financialpost.com/executive/capitalist-manifesto-how-capitalism-and-canada-made-prem-watsa

 

 

SJ

[MMM20]

4 hours ago, StubbleJumper said:

 

For forum participants who do not regularly read Canadian newspapers, the following is an interview with Prem from one of Canada's largest dailies:

 

https://financialpost.com/executive/capitalist-manifesto-how-capitalism-and-canada-made-prem-watsa

 

 

SJ

 

Prem redemption media tour has begun in earnest...

[StubbleJumper]

9 minutes ago, MMM20 said:

 

Prem redemption media tour has begun in earnest...

 

That might have some truth to it, particularly if the interview had been conducted by Toronto Star, in which FFH had a large ownership position in the past.  But, this particular article was one of a series that the National Post published over the past week that has chronicled the importance of capitalism and the unparalleled success of capitalist countries.  It seems to be a series designed to counteract the silliness coming from the woke crowd about dismantling capitalism in favour of some formed of a planned economy.  We all know how well planned economies have worked in the past, but the millenial crowd have no recollection of the Iron Curtain, so my sense is that the Post is trying in vain to remedy that. 

 

An interview with Prem is an excellent component of that capitalism series because it ticks several boxes to bust some of the woke myths -- class mobility, economic success of new Canadians, economic success of visible minorities, and philanthropic attitudes of economically successful people.  We need more articles and interviews like this to counteract all of the silliness from the woke crowd about how everyone who is not a rich white male is a victim, and that our salvation is collectivism.

 

 

SJ

[Daphne]

Great to see an official challenge to “wokenomics” 

[SharperDingaan]

Everybody wants capitalism .... until it's time to let the markets clear via 'creative destruction'. Then its bail me out, versus let me go under - 'cause if I go, I'll take everyone else with me. In the good 'ol days - it was kick the stool from under you, and charge for tickets to see the fall! Sure, it hurt at first, but it also removed the corruption, the control,  and truly opened the space to new competition, based purely on merit (bent, or otherwise!). What we have today isn't capitalism, its just bad cronyism.

 

The woke folks might be misguided, but they are also bang on in many places. Either do sustainable business, or croak - your choice. All yeast in a sugar solution eventually dies from its own toxic waste (alcohol) - large companies are no different.

 

SD

    

[TwoCitiesCapital]

On 12/20/2021 at 4:52 PM, SharperDingaan said:

Everybody wants capitalism .... until it's time to let the markets clear via 'creative destruction'. Then its bail me out, versus let me go under - 'cause if I go, I'll take everyone else with me. In the good 'ol days - it was kick the stool from under you, and charge for tickets to see the fall! Sure, it hurt at first, but it also removed the corruption, the control,  and truly opened the space to new competition, based purely on merit (bent, or otherwise!). What we have today isn't capitalism, its just bad cronyism.

 

The woke folks might be misguided, but they are also bang on in many places. Either do sustainable business, or croak - your choice. All yeast in a sugar solution eventually dies from its own toxic waste (alcohol) - large companies are no different.

 

SD

    

 

I largely agree with the sentiment. I'm not anti-capitalist, but I for sure agree that labor has been exploited by business interest who could buy politicians to gut labor protections and essentially get rid of collective bargaining. 

 

It's hard to want to continue supporting a system when the abuse of it is so obvious. Give labor a larger influence at the bargaining table and stop all of these corporate bailouts and I think you go a long way towards stopping the stagnation of the bottom 90% in terms of real wages and etc. 

 

Let companies go bankrupt and beef up your social safety net to catch the collateral damage. Certainly has to be better than bailing out billionaires when we have a working bankruptcy process. 

Edited December 22, 2021 by TwoCitiesCapital

[sundin]

Has there been any other famous investor that pumps a foreign leader as much as Prem pumps Modi? lol

 

[Parsad]

12 minutes ago, sundin said:

Has there been any other famous investor that pumps a foreign leader as much as Prem pumps Modi? lol

 

 

Munger...both Lee Kuan Yew or the CCP.  Cheers!

[sundin]

 

Certainly helps the FIH thesis to suck up to the country's head regulator. Fortunately the India growth thesis likely holds with or without Modi in power.  

[Viking]

3 hours ago, sundin said:

Has there been any other famous investor that pumps a foreign leader as much as Prem pumps Modi? lol

 

Prem is certainly supportive of the structural changes to the economy Modi in India and Mitsotakis in Greece are enacting and their benefits to drive higher economic growth (by attracting more foreign capital). I admit i do not understand India or Greece very well and how their economies work. However, what little i do know both countries appear to be moving to a more capitalist economic model and i applaud that (as an indirect investor in both countries). 

 

Politically, India has a democratic model/tradition given former British rule. However, economically, the country had a long history of strong ties with the former Soviet Union. Perhaps Modi shifting India more towards capitalism is a big deal. Prem would know as he is from India.

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India–Russia_relations

 

Same with Mitsotakis in Greece: the country’s political and economic history is VERY different than what we have in the US or Canada. Post WWII there was a real possibility Greece would go communist (that is what a substantial portion of its population wanted at the time). 
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Civil_War

 

Shifting a country from a socialist to a capitalist economic model is not easy. Capitalism is not the ‘natural’ way of things.

Edited December 22, 2021 by Viking