The western frontier and the Mormon culture, for centuries, have been overrun with less than reputable salesmen, peddling everything from herbal supplements to beauty products. Shady snake oil salesmen and miracle-cure peddlers have existed since the days of Joseph Smith - a con-man himself - and are now being supported by Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney.
These con-artists have evolved from door-to-door salesmen into huge corporations – like NuSkin and Melaluca. These corporations call themselves 'multi-level marketing' companies. They let you become the salesman – unknowingly buying into a pyramid scheme – while they scam you out of your money.
Mitt Romney - who says he has the business background to be the next President of the United States - believes these pyramid scheming companies offer people an entry to the American Dream.
Although there are countless cases being brought to court against NuSkin and other 'multi-level marketing' corporations that are being settled for millions of dollars, Romney supports this business model and believes it offers people the opportunity to grab that financial gold ring.
This is despite the fact that the Attorney Generals of Pennsylvania, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, and Connecticut have alleged that companies like NuSkin have engaged in deceptive business practices, are operating pyramid schemes, and violating consumer protection laws.
In one 1991 case, a former Nu Skin distributor in California filed a class action asserting that as many as 100,000 people had lost $75 million by signing up with the company. Nu Skin settled in 1992 and gave distributors $16 million in refunds for merchandise they were sitting on. A group of Canadian distributors brought a case against Nu Skin that was settled in 2001 with a similar outcome.
So why hasn’t Romney changed his stance on these companies even though law enforcement insists they are violating consumer protection laws?
Mitt Romney takes a lot of money - millions of dollars - from these shady businesses for his presidential campaign.
Stephanie Mencimer of Mother Jones says Romney's ties to the multi-level marketing industry are clear. According to Mother Jones, NuSkin and its subsidiaries have donated over $2 million to Romney's super PAC, Restore Our Future.
Melaleuca CEO Frank Vandersloot - Romney's chief financial advisor - has donated a total of $1 million to Restore our Future.
Mother Jones:
Melaleuca and its subsidiaries contributed $1 million to Restore Our Future last year. In 2010, Romney had lavishly praised the firm on the occasion of its 25th anniversary: "Under the leadership of Frank VanderSloot," he said in a statement, "Melaleuca has delivered on its promise of enhancing the lives of people."
Anyone who may have gotten into the more well-known pyramid based companies like Amway and Herbalife – both of which have faced accusations of corruption and pyramid scheming – understands that only those on the top get rich. Something Romney knows too well.
The list of Romney's pyramid scheming donors is extensive.
Romney has close ties with Gordon Morton who served on his finance committee during Romney’s 2008 bid for the White House. Morton is the co-founder of the MLM supplement company Xango - which peddles berry juice and skin care supplies. According to Xango income disclosure statements, 99 percent of Xango's distributors will never earn over $9,000 per year, while the top 0.5 percent reap all the rewards - a tell tale sign of a pyramid scheme.
"The average monthly commission check paid in 2007 to Active Distributors was $232, or $2,784 annually," while the top-dogs at Xango made an average annual salary of $1.4 million.
Romney also has close ties with David Lisonbee who donated $500,000 to Restore Our Future. Lisonbee is the founder of 4Life Research, another Utah-based MLM corporation facing similar accusations of corruption.
So, the next time someone questions what proof there is that Romney doesn’t understand the 99 percent and cares only about those on the top, remember: Romney thinks that the lives of those on the bottom of these pyramid schemes, making less than the national poverty level, will be better if they just believe in his American dream.
Really, Mr. Romney?