Posted on 01/12/2012 5:29:05 PM PST by Snoopers-868th
“...This stupid attack on Bain may well have screwed Newt for good,...”
Perhaps, but in the long run, it’s more likely Mitts’ claims that his actions with Bain created 100,000 jobs and refusal to show his tax returns may well have screwed Mitt for good.
The U.S. Cannot Have A Private Equity President, Mitt Romney
I was watching Fox and CNN off and on today, and both channels were questioning whether Newt had gone too far, as Romney seems to be gaining support from his actions.
I expect many voters will be unnerved by Newt's "Armageddon" comment, and it will get repeated airplay up until SC primary day. Fewer will ever watch the video. In my opinion, Newt's greatest weakness is a lack of discretion, just when it matters most.
So it is somewhat ironic that Romney’s former firm, Bain & Company, was among the private consulting firms that advised the Obama auto bailout team.
And what did Bain recommend? Cutting dealerships.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/45979278/
By Pat Garofalo on Jan 9, 2012 at 9:25 am
2012 GOP presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney, who has a large lead in the polls heading into the New Hampshire primary tomorrow, has been taking heat from both Democrats and his Republican challengers for his time at Bain Capital, the private equity firm that he headed. Bain’s modus operandi was to invest in companies, leverage them up with debt, and then sell them off for scrap, allowing Bain’s investors to walk away with huge profits while the companies in which Bain invested wound up in bankruptcy, laying off workers and reneging on benefits.
Last week, Reuters profiled one company, Worldwide Grinding Systems, that went belly up after Bain invested in it. The company not only lost 750 jobs, but the federal government had to come in to bail out its pension fund, while Bain walked away with millions in profits.
And according to an analysis by the Wall Street Journal, this was far from an isolated incident. In fact, 22 percent of the companies in which Bain invested wound up either in bankruptcy or shutting their doors entirely, while Bain itself has made billions of dollars for its investors:
The Wall Street Journal, aiming for a comprehensive assessment, examined 77 businesses Bain invested in while Mr. Romney led the firm from its 1984 start until early 1999, to see how they fared during Bain’s involvement and shortly afterward.
Among the findings: 22% either filed for bankruptcy reorganization or closed their doors by the end of the eighth year after Bain first invested, sometimes with substantial job losses. An additional 8% ran into so much trouble that all of the money Bain invested was lost. [...]
The Journal analysis shows that in total, Bain produced about $2.5 billion in gains for its investors in the 77 deals, on about $1.1 billion invested. Overall, Bain recorded roughly 50% to 80% annual gains in this period, which experts said was among the best track records for buyout firms in that era.
Adding insult to injury, Bain would hide its profits in tax havens, not even paying the rate it was supposed to on the profits it made laying off workers.
Federal aid
The US Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp, which insures company retirement plans, determined in 2002 that GS (Steel) had underfunded its pension by $US44 million. The federal agency, funded by corporate levies, stepped in to cover the basic pension payments, but not the supplement the union had negotiated as a hedge against the plant's closure.
For Joe Soptic, who worked at the plant for 28 years, that meant a loss of $US283 per month, about 22 per cent of his pension. Others lost up to $US400 per month, according to documents supplied by the union.
Comparatively, the GS bailout was one of the pension guarantor's smaller hits. The federal fund swung from a $US7.7 billion surplus to a $US3.6 billion deficit that year as it struggled to cover bankruptcies in the steel and transportation industries. The failure of LTV Steel, for example, cost the agency $US1.9 billion.
The agency's woes prompted Congress in 2006 to require companies to contribute more toward their pensions. Press accounts said this change accelerated the shift away from pension plans toward 401(k)s and other defined-contribution retirement plans that offer less security for workers.
People argue that buying up viable companies with little debt and solid physical assets, strapping them down with debt to repay the buyer’s cost of purchase, then strip mining the companies of all their productive assets to the point of bankruptcy is nothing but good old fashioned capitalism at best, or at worst is excused by saying that in other cases the man actually helped concerns grow and thrive.
The assumption is that some level of good deeds can make up for some level of evil ones.
So my question is this: how many healthy babies does an abortionist have to deliver to make up for the dead ones? Can you give me a number?
And how many decent deals does it take to make up for the despicable ones?
a complete commie hit piece. Do you feel better being used by the criminal lib media. specifics. get specifics. As I have stated I’d vote my dead cat vrs obambi. apparently you like central planing.
Do try a Little learning beforee becoming a tool.
the harshness is because of the info you have here.
At least Rick had the guts to explain himself. Where is the guy in charge of Mitty’s SuperPac? Exacty!
Not if we do not have a President that does not have an interest in Bain.
[keep reading how to be a commie tool.]
You are so right. I am a budding Bain style capitalist myself. Please send me the name of the company you work for so I can try my skills at a hostile takeover.
I see you think with your smaller head. Go away.
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