Decoding Buffett's Support of the Bailout

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Omaha hosted two of the most influential players of the recent financial crisis this week.

Hometown hero Warren Buffett sat down with former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson to discuss Paulson's new book, On the Brink: Inside the Race to Stop the Collapse of the Global Financial System, at the annual meeting of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce.

During the nearly hour-long discussion, Buffett and Paulson touched on a number of topics concerning not only the book but Paulson's personal life as well. However, what seemed to gain the most media attention was the discussion geared towards the actions taken by Washington to combat the financial meltdown.

Though the two men have not always taken the same stance on political issues, when discussion centered on the government's bailout of the U.S. financial crisis in 2008, both enthusiastically voiced their support.

Buffett's approval of the government's decision to inject $700 billion into the U.S. economy once again brings to mind an interesting contradiction concerning the Oracle's views on debt.

While Buffett commends the government's actions in the time of crisis, he has traditionally been opposed to increasing government deficits. These concerns were highlighted in a New York Times op-ed he wrote last August. In the piece, Buffett explained that if the government continues to issue excessive quantities of "greenback emissions" into the economy, the U.S. will lose its financial integrity.

Despite Buffett's apparent contradiction, highlighted by his views on the bailout and our growing deficit, his approval of the actions taken to save the U.S. financial system from collapse is hardly surprising.