When the Obama campaign started raising questions about the way Bain Capital operated when Romney was the CEO, some Democrats who are close to Wall Street immediately starting complaining. We shouldn't be attacking "capitalism," they said, or the financial industry. But those Democrats are looking pretty foolish after the stories that have come out over the past few days. It has never been capitalism or even the financial industry being attacked when Bain's style of operating is the subject: it is the worst kind of vampire capitalism that the Obama campaign is going after.
The idea of questioning Bain has always been essential to this campaign, because Romney has made clear that his main qualification to be President is the work he did at Bain. As the New York Times put it in their story Saturday, "Companies' Ills Did Not Harm Romney's Firm":
Mr. Romney's experience at Bain is at the heart of his case for the presidency. He has repeatedly promoted his years working in the "real economy," arguing that his success turning around troubled companies and helping to start new ones, producing jobs in the process, has prepared him to revive the country's economy. He has fended off attacks about job losses at companies Bain owned, saying, "Sometimes investments don't work and you're not successful." But an examination of what happened when companies Bain controlled wound up in bankruptcy highlights just how different Bain and other private equity firms are from typical denizens of the real economy, from mom-and-pop stores to bootstrapping entrepreneurial ventures.
But now, with this major new NYT story, plus the Washington Post pioneer-in-outsourcing story, it is becoming increasingly obvious to everyone why the Obama campaign and people like me have been making a big deal about Bain for a long time. All capitalism is not the same, and Bain is right up there with companies like Goldman Sachs in the sleaziness with which they make their money.
What Bain did in buying these companies was to create a structure where they made money no matter what. As the saying goes, it's nice work if you can get it -- but you can't get it unless you are willing to be absolutely brutal in pursuing your own profits at the expense of everyone else. What Bain did wasn't just capitalism, but the worst sort of capitalism. As the NYT and other media sources have so explicitly laid it out, at least seven Bain-owned companies went bankrupt, but "Bain structured deals so that it was difficult for the firm and its executives to ever really lose, even if practically everyone else involved with the company that Bain owned did, including its employees, creditors and even, at times, investors in Bain's funds."
Bain loaded these companies with debt, in part so they could pay Bain millions (sometimes tens of millions) of dollars in fees. They then wrote off the debt on their taxes. In some cases (at least 4 times according the NYT story) Bain amassed huge short term profits before the companies, weighed down with the debt Bain forced on them, sunk under the weight of that debt.
Some of the companies Bain bought did better than that. Of course, some of those that did were out-sourcing and off-shoring pioneers. And others did better in great part by laying off huge numbers of workers and/or slashing the wages and benefits of many others. This is the track record that is "at the heart of [Romney's] case for the presidency"?
The debate over Bain-onomics is exactly the kind of debate this country should be having. We are at a make or break moment for the American middle class. What should our path forward be? Will it be the path of Bain and the biggest banks on Wall Street, which put profits over everything else, making millions because other people went broke and lost their jobs? Or will it be a path that invests in the health of our economy and the business sector from the bottom up? This is the fundamental choice for Americans: do we help and promote the kind of businesses that make and sell products and services here in America? Do we help the economy by investing in our people, giving them good education, college loans, and decent wages so they can buy goods from the small businesses in their community? Do we help our small businesses with start-up capital and giving them a fighting chance to compete with the big dogs? Or is our government going to be 100% geared toward the big incumbents who already have big money and market share and well-connected lobbyists who can get them sweetheart deals and tax breaks?
I think the Obama team has been absolutely right to engage all-out in this debate over Bain, and to frame this race as to who will fight for the middle class in their moment of need. This new ad shows they get it:
Follow Mike Lux on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ProgressiveLux
 |
 |
|
| Obama | Romney | |
|---|---|---|
| Electoral Votes (270 to win) |
332 | 206 |
| Obama | Romney | |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 65,899,660 | 60,932,152 |
| Percent | 51.1% | 47.2% |
| Democrats* | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|
| Current Senate | 53 | 47 |
| Seats gained or lost | +2 | -2 |
| New Total | 55 | 45 |
| Democrats | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|
| Seats won | 201 | 234 |
According to ATR’s Web site, atr.org, “In signing the Pledge, Gov. Romney firmly commits himself in writing to fiscal discipline and economic common sense,” Grover Norquist said.
Unless Gov. Romney declares has intent otherwise, his agenda can only be for a much weaker U.S. Government, at a time when governments like China’s get stronger by the day. Voters should not limit their evaluation Romney’s spotty results at Bain Capital but also whether his apparent shared values with ATR will result in a stronger or weaker America.
I remember those days in the 1980s of mergers/acquisitons, corporate raiders, union busting, 401-K implementation, outsourcing jobs, privatizing govt jobs - a whole mind set of 'greed is good' permeated our financial system.
So yes, Obama team need to continue bringing this vulture capitalism out in the open. If Romney wins, people will know that they voted in a corporate raider who unleashed these billionaire vultures unto the American people.
Government needs to balance the interests of all domestic (and sometimes foreign) stakeholders. Mergers and Acquisitions experts shift risk around to better their clients positions, inevitably forcing costs on (sometimes) innocent bystanders.
http://www.econpoint.com/blog.php?105-They-told-me-it-was-so
http://www.econpoint.com/showthread.php?898-Country-amp-Corporation-Different-expertise-approach-appropriate
From 4 decades of securities experience, and as a former CEO of a Venture Capital business, which i and my investors saved after 2.5 years in Chapter 11, and emerged with 25 jobs intact for a Fla distillation company - in 2002, and still in business --- I know the distinction between venture capital for capital formation and vulture capital for financial profits asap.
And my new book is about this as well as the root cause of our current depression and vast chasm of economic inequality - the real root cause: the return of Social Darwinism metastasized into Financial Darwinism based on the ethic of - survival of the richest. Learn more: www.howwegotswindled.com
If this man is elected, we will truly be a corporate America, at least whatever he doesn't outsource
he has demonstrated an ability to use corporations to advance himself with no regard for the consequences of those actions. that is exactly the skill set he brings to the GOP nomination. think of all the super pacs and big dollar donors as investors all hoping for gain, limited partners if you will.
if you wish for the american experiment to be turned upside down, vote for the guy, 'not what you can do for your country, but what can your country do for you...'
obama has his own problems but we're talking about romney. rinse, repeat...
>>"Whether you think what they did is wrong or not, it is completely irrelavent because geuss what, they don't care, they don't have to care, and no one has a right to make them care."
These would make great campaign slogans: "Vote Republican -- because it's not sleazy if you don't break the law, and no has the right to make you care."
"I've got mine, just try and get yours."
While claiming they desire free markets with open competition they continually lobby Congress for advantage purchased through campaign contributions.
Romney should actually be glad that Corporations are not people: if they were, Bain Capital would then be a serial killer.
Step 1: Keep Americans Stupid by defunding public education
Step 2: Tell lies repeatedly online, offline, on media, radio, TV, Fox cable, newspapers, WSJ until the stupid believe them as fact
Step 3: Rally top 1 %, whites, troops, faithful, cult members, conservatives, Tea Party members. Convince the stupid to vote against their best interests
Step 4: Repeat Steps 1, 2. 3 over and over until the rich 1 % will have gotten richer and the poor 99 % will have gotten poorer.
.This will go on and on until the 99 % wake up to the sobering reality that our Do Nothing 535 Congress members have done nothing but sabotage the economy deliberately in order to make 350 million Americans suffer and make President Obama look bad.Beyond doubt, to counter this fact or bitter truth, Mormon Bishop Mitt Romney will flip-flop again as expected regarding his education stance.
The best alternative for us is to vote out all GOP (Greedy Obstructionist Party) candidates on November 6, 2012, Tuesday morning for the good of the USA, our country, thus enabling us to start fresh with a new slate of politicians to make it possible for the USA to be great again and for us to be able to achieve our goals and the American dream for ourselves and our children.