Campaign-related stories generally have the highest degree of barely veiled hypocrisy so it's no surprise that NYT ran an article today about the evils of Private Equity and LBOs as they relate to Mitt Romney, founder of Bain Capital. Naturally, there was no mention of Crazy "$400 Haircut" Eddie's stint at Fortress, where he learned about poverty, and picked up a partly $479,512 (when top hedgies are making over a billion it actually is) for his services to the poor PMs who have since dropped their crack habit in favor of uncut Bolivian marching powder, and no longer beat their wives with their Callaway drivers - nothing but Maruman Majesty will do for the honey now. Thanks, John!
Naturally the unions will complain of layoffs. G-d forbid, that you may actually have to earn the right to live in a democratic capitalist society where companies must strive to always improve themselves and answer to shareholders (as in your union pension funds - and yes they invest in PE too).
Meanwhile the Democrats are quick to take from those they deem are making "too much money". How dare those PE cowboys not pay triple taxation on their profits? (I've already blogged about this).
What upsets me the most is that Romney isn't standing up to these douchebags any more than he absolutely has to. He's masking Bain as a VC firm and trying to downplay the LBO aspect. Naturally this is a bit hard with the deal flow Bain Cap has been having lately and just makes him seem foolish, complacent and ready to be shackled up by ignorant opinions of the masses instead of standing up for what he clearly believed throughout his professional life. For someone who asks voters to be weary of "career politicians" he has sure started to act like one.
There's a reason why Kravis gave his money to McCain and not a fellow private equiteer.
Naturally the unions will complain of layoffs. G-d forbid, that you may actually have to earn the right to live in a democratic capitalist society where companies must strive to always improve themselves and answer to shareholders (as in your union pension funds - and yes they invest in PE too).
Meanwhile the Democrats are quick to take from those they deem are making "too much money". How dare those PE cowboys not pay triple taxation on their profits? (I've already blogged about this).
What upsets me the most is that Romney isn't standing up to these douchebags any more than he absolutely has to. He's masking Bain as a VC firm and trying to downplay the LBO aspect. Naturally this is a bit hard with the deal flow Bain Cap has been having lately and just makes him seem foolish, complacent and ready to be shackled up by ignorant opinions of the masses instead of standing up for what he clearly believed throughout his professional life. For someone who asks voters to be weary of "career politicians" he has sure started to act like one.
There's a reason why Kravis gave his money to McCain and not a fellow private equiteer.
The New York Times takes a look at Mr. Romney’s ties to Bain Capital, finding that he has drawn upon his contacts for eye-popping levels of fundraising — and yet has drawn criticism for his role in the sometimes messy world of leveraged buyouts. leveraged buyouts often lead to layoffs, a business reality that has impinged on Mr. Romney’s political hopes at least once before. In his 1994 campaign for the Senate, Mr. Romney’s efforts to unseat Edward M. Kennedy were derailed in part because of accusations that Bain Capital had fired union workers at an Indiana company it controlled. “Sometimes the medicine is a little bitter but it is necessary to save the life of the patient,” he said. But buyout firms have run into growing opposition from politicians and labor unions recently. On the campaign trail, Mr. Romney usually refers to Bain as a venture capital firm, largely to evoke a spirit of entrepreneurship, innovation and perhaps even scrappiness. |
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