Just read a great article on Romney's time at Bain Capital. I had skimmed the stories about Romney and Bain, and I guess I though he was like the equivalent of Gordon Gecko - taking over troubled companies, then slashing jobs and yanking any cash out of the soon to be bankrupt company.
The article explain that was not what Romney did while at Bain.
It was worse. Much worse.
Join me below the orange bug.
No, Romney took healthy companies and sucked the life out of them.
Pete Kotz explains -
His formula was simple: Bain would purchase a firm with little money down, then begin extracting huge management fees and paying Romney and his investors enormous dividends.
The result was that previously profitable companies were now burdened with debt.
During his race Senator Kennedy in 1994, he blithely fired all the workers in company in Indiana. Made them reapply for a 50% cut in pay. They went on strike and then the Kennedy campaign made commercials using the striking workers. The commercials had an impact - Romney lost big - getting only 41% of the vote.
But did he learn?
He seemed incapable of noticing that his brand of "creative destruction" left a lot of human wreckage in its wake. Or that voters might see him as more scumbag than saint.
I have had a long day, and urge you to read the article online.
http://www.villagevoice.com/...