March 5, 2005

Warren Buffett

Berkshire Hathaway

1440 Kiewit Plaza
Omaha, NE 68131

Dear Mr. Buffett:

I am writing this because you chose to become very personally involved in a project that a good number of Nebraska community leaders worked on for the last 15 years.  In doing so you contributed to frustrating our efforts to stem the tide of economic staleness and depopulation that much of Nebraska faces.  You have a reputation for thoroughly understanding and researching an issue before you get involved, but in our case you seemed to have acted differently.

The face of Nebraska is changing.  Perhaps it is inevitable that the next century will see the demise of most of our 500 cities and villages; the functional depopulation of most of our landmass; less than a dozen cities emerging as no-growth trade and supply centers; and the Omaha metro area becoming the only area with sustained viability.   However, not all of us believe that must be Nebraska’s fate and some of us decided to do something.

Choosing not to rely on “wishful thinking  -- and its usual companion, thumb sucking”, we worked hard to successfully unite 100 Nebraska communities in a creative political vehicle with considerable potential under a philosophy consistent with Nebraska values and solid pragmatism. We were among the first to see the potential of the Internet for rural communities and to successfully deploy it in rural areas.  See www.cogov.org/about.html.  We designed a funding mechanism that relied on our own resources and we positioned ourselves to take bold steps to organize and conserve our capital.   We realized that at times the most conservative thing to do is to be daring. We applied the lesson of the windmill – turn a hot, dry wind into cool, refreshing water.

Without ever talking to us, you personally intervened, said our approach was wrong, and inferred that you had better alternatives.   It is not right for you to now simply turn away and focus on the world of high finance while leaving it to us to pick up the pieces.  Before we lock into the next round Initiative petitions to convert an unconscionable loss of revenue into a functional tool for our communities, it is fitting and indeed proper to ask you to share with us your ideas as to a better course of action.

Organizing and mobilizing the capital resources of our communities is the most pressing issue we face.  If you want to be involved, we’d appreciate your counsel. 

 Thank you for your attention to these thoughts.

 Sincerely,

 Paul Schumacher