Mitt Romney: It Pains Me To Fire You (VIDEO)

Mitt Romney said Saturday night that it pains him to fire workers in order to make a company more profitable, responding to criticism from Newt Gingrich, who cited a New York Times story on one of Romney's ventures.

"It always pains you if you have to be in a position of downsizing a business in order to make it more successful," Romney said. "I'm not surprised to have the New York Times try to put free enterprise on trial...It's a little surprising from my colleagues on this stage."

Former Massachusetts Gov. Romney said that the laid-off workers are victims of the free market. "Sometimes investments don't work and you're not successful," he said.

But Gingrich, the former House Speaker, questioned whether Romney's private equity ventures were aimed at creating jobs or quick profit for capitalists.

Gingrich said he's all for the free market, but "I'm not nearly enamored of a Wall Street model where you can go in and flip companies, have leveraged buyouts, basically take out all the money, leaving behind the workers."

He cited 1,700 fired workers in a New York Times story on one of Romney's corporate raids.

"If it's factually accurate, it raises questions," he said.

Comments

[rgilley]

08:07 AM on 01/09/2012

Romney was a corproate raider for Bain capital. He aquired the companies fired the employess and ran the companies until the profits were drained and then walked away unscathed. He has no problem firing people to be sure.

[Capt Nemo]

07:40 AM on 01/09/2012

Every time I see Romney, I recall that photo I saw of him and his associates at the Bain Corp. They were standing with big, smug grins and wads of money overflowing from their pockets. It was absolutely gluttonous. I certainly don't begrudge anyone for having money, but I have little tolerance for someone making such a disgusting spectacle of themselves. The thought of this shallow oaf in the oval office gives me chills.

[ZappaFreak]

02:27 AM on 01/09/2012

I doubt very seriously that Mitt, or anyone associated with his business dealings, had any interest whatsoever in saving anyone's job at any of the companies he destroyed for profit. Men of his type are opportunists that care not for the working man, only the dollar.

One should seriously consider voting for a man who decried that the auto bailout would be a disaster, and would never work, only to see it really did work. He'd of rather watched the entire industry go bankrupt than try to save one job related to auto manufacturing.

ZF
Make Civics a mandate in public schools!

[LMPE]

02:04 AM on 01/09/2012

Mitt Romney. Or, as I like to call him, the perfect one percenter.

[ThinkCreeps]

01:53 AM on 01/09/2012

Does the US really need such a masochistic president?

[myhomeo]

11:43 PM on 01/08/2012

"I'm not nearly enamored of a Wall Street model where you can go in and flip companies, have leveraged buyouts, basically take out all the money, leaving behind the workers."

In this case I have to agree with Newt. Of course, if Obama said that they would accuse him of class warfare.

[ThinkCreeps]

04:07 AM on 01/09/2012

Newt must have found that line somewhere on the web.

He's more enamoured of a lightweight pseudo-intellectual model where you write pap books to make a living, while you really coin it from the big bribes you get to influence legislators.

[Norge]

11:26 PM on 01/08/2012

"It pains me to fire you", and I wonder just which area of your that might be. Would that be the more munnie saving area instead of working with additudes. Firing, "Burning" someone really causes pain which eventually swings back around on the pain giver with terrible consequences in one way or another.

[l78lancer]

11:05 PM on 01/08/2012

Mitt talks about profitability as if eliminating employees is the only way. It usually is the quickest way to prop up the bottom line, but it is usually short-sighted and makes it difficult for companies to remain competitive.

Business executives like Mitt don't know how to produce, grow and compete. They have no guts. They only know how to cut staff, take profit and appease shareholders. No wonder American business is stagnant.

[l78lancer]

10:57 PM on 01/08/2012

Mitt's thoughts:

Firings for you means bonuses for me.

Which do you think I'm going to choose?

[pherron lowe]

10:55 PM on 01/08/2012

...newt know's he is not going to get the nomination...when he is done with mitt..damaged goods..

[Altruism 101]

10:22 PM on 01/08/2012

You people are going to hate yourselves for wishing something you have no idea what might the repercussions might be !
Sooner or later, those in power are really going to put an end to everyone's gripes and moans and say ok, here's how were going to fix the problem ! Their solution to the problem is incarcerating you in a forced labor camp busting rocks ! Hey, at least you now have a Job with room and board being provided to you by the state, that is what you wanted after all wasn't it ?

NO ! That's not what you wanted ! Tsk Tsk, here, I thought you wanted something the government owes you !

[Peanut Santiago]

11:28 PM on 01/08/2012

We all know how "let them eat cake" turned out.

Sometimes the people get riled up and go after their leaders.....

[the taoist]

09:35 PM on 01/08/2012

"It always pains you if you have to be in a position of downsizing a business in order to make it more successful," Romney said. "I'm not surprised to have the New York Times try to put free enterprise on trial...It's a little surprising from my colleagues on this stage."
Translation: "It pains me to fire you (he,he).. but if I don't it makes it impossible
for me to put your collective salaries in my pocket................

[rollo tomasi]

09:14 PM on 01/08/2012

"It pains me to fire you, and no, I will not give you a handout. Get a feaking job!"
-Mittens von Romney

[kyeshinka]

08:54 PM on 01/08/2012

Anyone who's ever been downsized because their company moved to China will be a real tool to vote for Romney. But then, most conservatives are real tools.

[rollo tomasi]

09:12 PM on 01/08/2012

HEY! Don't criticize the JOB CREATORS!

[AZterritory]

08:11 PM on 01/08/2012

Trump and Mitty are pretty much the same type of 'businessman' . . . one making money by 'firing' people on TV, and the other in real life, and neither capable of making money without doing that. Business by attrition. . . yeah, that takes talent.