Why Romney is Struggling to Explain His Time at Bain

Posted by jrosenhouse on July 18, 2012
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Via Andrew Sullivan, we have this interesting essay, by Jacob Weisberg, discussing why Mitt Romney is struggling to defend his history at Bain Capital. The whole essay is worth reading, but I especially liked this part:

Romney’s Bain career is a story about rising inequality. It’s telling that George Romney, Mitt’s father, made around $200,000 through most of the years he ran American Motors Corporation. Doing work that clearly created jobs, the elder Romney paid an effective tax rate that averaged 37 percent. His son made vastly more running a corporate chop shop in an industry that does not appear to create jobs overall. In 2010, Mitt Romney paid an effective tax rate of 13.9 percent on $21.7 million in investment income—around 14 times as much as his father in inflation-adjusted terms. This difference encapsulates the change from corporate titans who lived in the same world as the people who worked for them, in an America with real social mobility, to a financial overclass that makes its own separate rules and has choked off social mobility. The elder Romney wasn’t embarrassed to explain what he’d done as a businessman or to release his tax returns.

Well said!

The trouble is that the change Weisberg describes was and continues to be facilitated largely by the loyalty of white middle-class voters to the Republican Party. The people most hurt by the right-wing policies exploited by Romney and his ilk are precisely the ones cheering most loudly as it happens.

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Comments

  1. #1 Kevin Sanders
    July 18, 2012

    Romney just needs to grow a pair and come on out and tell Obumbles and the rest of his left wing minions that his tax returns and his income is PRIVATE secure personal information no different than releasing his Social Security Number or his credit card numbers or any other private personal information.

    How much money one makes has absolutely nothing to do with running for president. If that still would not shut Obama up, i would make a formal FBI request that they look into Obama’s exact relationship with Bill Ayers and his fraudulant birth certificate.

    If that still didn;t do the job, I would flat out ask the president face to face in front of all the news media and screaming fans one question: “Why did your administration assasinate Andrew Brietbart and a 17 year olf girl and just who else’s names are on your personal hit list”?

    That shoud chnage the subject in the media .

    It wouldn;t do for me to run for office. I could really get under the skin of the liberals.

    Oh, and FYI, charles darwin was a life support system for a hairy face.

  2. #2 Lenoxus
    July 18, 2012

    charles darwin was a life support system for a hairy face.

    That is the least insane thing you just said. I, too am the proud host of a nice beard. I feel like responding to anything else would be troll-feeding, but I may change my mind later.

  3. #3 Kevin Sanders
    July 18, 2012

    Add Karl marx to list of life support systems for hairy faces as well. You must be a scientist, a hippie, a communist, a muslim, or a ham operator. Everyone else shaves.

    Go ahead ans respknd but I said was true. Mitt Romney’s tax returns are just a private confidential tax returns as yours is. Have you ever released your tax returns to the general public? Why not. Seems like that what democracy is all about all of a sudden.

  4. #4 Narad
    Canada
    July 19, 2012

    I do not know who this Kevin Sanders is, but he is a rather annoying individual. Then again, most people are.

  5. #5 SLC
    July 19, 2012

    Re Kevin Sanders
    Mitt Romney’s tax returns are just a private confidential tax returns as yours is. Have you ever released your tax returns to the general public? Why not.

    The difference is that Mr. Romney is running for public office and I am not. When one runs for a pubic office, one give up much of the privacy that the rest of us enjoy.

    “Why did your administration assasinate Andrew Brietbart and a 17 year olf girl and just who else’s names are on your personal hit list”?

    Why did Mr. Sanders rape that 10 year old boy. Just asking questions. I suspect that Mr. Sanders is a sockpuppet for Jerry Sandusky.

  6. #6 Wow
    July 19, 2012

    Mr Sanders has not denied the allegations of pre-teen male rape.

    I’m only pointing out the facts, and that is a fact.

  7. #7 eric
    July 19, 2012

    I think Kevin Sanders poe’d you all.

    No intelligent conservative would suggest that as a campaign strategy, Romney (1) refuse to release tax records, (2) call on the FBI to investigate his birth records, and (3) publicly accuse the President of ordering the assassination of Breitbart. That’s more like something Stephen Colbert would suggest.

  8. #8 Ian Kemmish
    July 19, 2012

    Unfortunately, “equality” is one of the most subjective words in the language. Suppose one’s aim is, reasonably, to have a more-or-less equal ratio of total income received divided by total effort expended? Perform that calculation for bloggers and you’ll get a figure that would make any investment banker blush….

    Both the numerator AND the denominator matter.

  9. #9 Wow
    July 19, 2012

    “I think Kevin Sanders poe’d you all.”

    Since kevin has posted since his original, and not to say “Sheesh, guys, I wasn’t being *serious*!”, no, he’s not poe’d us.

  10. #10 Eric Lund
    July 19, 2012

    Lenoxus @2024: I feel like responding to anything else would be troll-feeding

    I would agree with that assessment. The poster you refer to also made a couple of inflammatory (and I am being kind here) comments on one of Greg Laden’s threads last night. I hadn’t seen him before.

    There are countries (Norway, for example) where tax returns are a matter of public record. Some arguments in favor of that position: it would allow people to verify that the law is being enforced consistently and fairly, and it would prevent people like Romney from ending up with this dilemma. And of course there is the old standby (sauce for the goose, etc.): Why should you be afraid of disclosing your tax returns if you have nothing to hide?

  11. #11 Xuuths
    July 19, 2012

    Romney supplied the McCain campaign with more than a dozen years of tax returns when he was trying to be vice president back in 2008 — he clearly wasn’t asked to do so, he volunteered. Why was it a good idea then, but not now? Is this merely another flip-flop by Mr. Floppy?

  12. #12 TTT
    July 19, 2012

    “Why did your administration assassinate Andrew Brietbart”

    I wish they did – he deserved it. Good riddance and burn in Hell.

  13. #13 JimV
    July 19, 2012

    From all accounts and appearances, Romney is a bit of a jerk, but I think that is common among those whose egos are big enough to make them feel they deserve to be President. If he would stop with the wing-nut craziness which he adopted to win the nomination, and return to the middle-of-the-road policies he had when he campaigned for Governor of Massachusetts, he might be almost worth consideration.

    On second thought … nah.

    If I had a time machine, I wouldn’t use it to kill Hitler, which probably would put too big a strain on the space-time continuum, but I would like to send a lot of politicians back to live through a few of those WWII years, when we mostly all worked together. It seems to me that except for rare outliers, that was the last generation of honest, sensible Republicans (like George Romney).

  14. #14 Kevin Sanders
    July 19, 2012

    Yes I deny the allegation of raping a 10 year old boy. I am not gay nor do I live in san Francisco nor am I a left winger or union boss.

    Breitbart was a good man. he was killed becuase of what he knew. Now if anyone deserved a sword up their ass it had to be karl marx. If only there was a time machine and SLC could be forced to rape karl max and change his satanic policies …

    Using a time machine to kill hitlet is ridiculous. Kill karl marx and chalres darwin and there will not be a hitler to kill in the future. Now that’s using the ole noodle.

  15. #15 Kevin Sanders
    July 19, 2012

    socialism is a life support system for tyranny.

  16. #16 Kevin Sanders
    July 19, 2012

    QUOTES BY THOMAS JEFFERSON

    The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.

    I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.

    No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.

    The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

    To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.

  17. #17 wow
    July 20, 2012

    So you admit that there were claims against you for paedophilia, kevin.

    We all know about smoke and fire.

    Just saying….

  18. #18 wow
    July 20, 2012

    PS since you didn’t pay CERN for the WWW, please stop taking from those who worked because you won’t and get off the browser using http.

  19. #19 SLC
    July 20, 2012

    Re Kevin Sanders

    Andrew Breibart was a lying, fascist piece of filth. The world will not miss him, anymore then it misses Stalin, Frankenberger, Pol Pot, Saddam Hussein, or will miss Bashar Assad when the rebels in Syria bump him off.

    Mr. Sanders has provided a quote, allegedly from Thomas Jefferson. Would he care to provide a reference for this quote, which sounds like something David Barton, congenital liar, would conjure up.

  20. #20 eric
    July 20, 2012

    Sanders quoting Jefferson:

    The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.

    I agree; taxes on investment income should be higher than taxes on payroll (labor) income.

  21. #21 James Sweet
    July 20, 2012

    This is the second time this week I thought somebody was being sarcastic about their Obama-hatin’, and they turned out to be dead serious. Poe’s Law, again.

  22. #22 Lenoxus
    July 20, 2012

    I, too, agree with Jefferson that slavery is deeply immoral, and that to (for example) have sex with a slave would be an awful abuse of power.

    In seriousness, it’s usually a mistake to idolize people in the past. I extend that to George Romney as well. While I don’t think he was nearly as bad as his son, a lot of what he is being praised for involve forces barely in his control, such as a good economy. And I’m not so sure social mobility is actually less today than in the fifties, though income inequality is greater. I would guess that compared to George Romney’s era, it’s easier to become rich but harder to become mega-rish today.

  23. #23 Kevin Sanders
    Alabama
    July 20, 2012

    SLC, you forgot to put Che on that list of peices of filth.

    All Breaitbart did was to tell the public what kind of sneaky filthy liars and criminals worked for ACRON and how the president reaped the rewards and is still doing so. The new ACRON has changed names, but the same people are still funneling “stimulus” money to the presidental campaign on Obama’s favor.

    Besides, we know how ACORN (a bunch of nuts) loved to help underage whores hide out from their parents and police. That’s right, just doing the public some good. I wonder how many 12 year olds got an abortion without parents knowing about the little sinners?

    Breitbard did the taxpayers a great service by trying to break apart a crime ring funded by the 45% of the population who pays taxes. I guess if you are one of the socialist misfits who gets a handout and pays nothing in return, you would’nt care how YOUR money was spent either.

    Add people like Che, Micheal Moore ( a fatass slob and fraud), Van Jones(the bald headed communist lair and green jobs czar), Ted turner, and Micheal “ban food” Bloomberg to your list of filthy assholes as well. Then add your self if you disagree.

  24. #24 SLC
    July 20, 2012

    Andrew Breitbart did the public a great service by croaking due to a heart attack, caused by his unhealthy lifestyle. Mr. Sanders could do this blog a great service by going out and playing in traffic.

    And then we have Mitt Romney, who lied to the SEC about his service to Bain from 1999 to 2002 where he claims he was paid $100,000 per year to do nothing. I have a nice bridge I’d like to sell anybody who believes that.

    We also have lying, draft dodging, coke snorting, pot smoking George W. Bush who lied us into a war in Iraq because of fictitious WMDs, plowing under 8,000+ American troops.

  25. #25 Kevin Sanders
    July 20, 2012

    Nice comments SLC. I wonder if Barney Frank and Chris Dodd ever lied about anything? Yeah we have the great whoemonger John Edwards knocking up women while his wife is dying of cancer. Is that part of the Obamacare plan?

    I wonder if George Soros or Ted Turner has offshore accounts and have lied about them? I bet they have, but since they are not conservative Republicans who cares right?

    Then there is Micheal moore the fraud who preaches socialism but depends on capitalism to sell his fraudulant lying “documentaries” about how great communist healthcare systems are. Whenever his cholesterol level hits its peak and its time for heart surgery I hope he has to go to Cuba to get it. After all, their system is far superior to ours. That’s why most Americans dream of flying out to Cuba for surgery.

    Then we have Reverend Wright. or should we call him Reverend Wrong? The smartelic racist preacher that Obama sat and listenen to for 20 years or more. The preacher who spews his racist hatredt for white people and jews, yet no one complains about his wonderful sermons.

    Then there is Van Jones. The communist who plotted to kill 25% of the world population in order save the planet. Maybe when he’s out huggung a tree it will fall on him or the logger will saw his smug ass in half with the chainsaw.

    As far as WMDs in Iraq, the only weapon that i know of that the Army retrieved was at the battle where Saddam’s sons got killed. One of his sons fired a weapon that blowed a hole all the way through an Abrahms tank. It was said that this was no ordinary weapon. perhaps Saddam had ties to other worldly critter I don;t know, but we sure as hell would have wnet in there to retrieve that. FYI, George H. W. Bush was a leading member of MJ-12. Figure the connection out.

    I’ll go play in traffic now. You go finish playing in the toilet and claim your prize.

  26. #26 Kevin Sanders
    July 20, 2012

    Oh and don’t forget the nutcase mayor of new York. He wants to ban salt, pepper, herbs, spices, colas, virgins, an about 699,000,000,000 other things that he wants all to himself. the only thing that should be banned in new York is Micheal Bloomberg. The city council should fire him, then banish him from the city for life.

    That twisted freak is causing alot of problems. Glad I live down south where his type of behavior can get you slapped. We eat what we want and we drink what we want becuase down here we are free men, not government slaves. Bloomberg is a robot. Time for that overlord to rust and get replaced for a new model.

  27. #27 Wow
    July 21, 2012

    Ok, fruitloop. Where is the evidence the NYC mayor wants all thesalt, pepper, etc for himself?

    And since you’ve devolved to a “look over there!” line of defence,you admit the thesis of the thread.

  28. #28 SLC
    July 21, 2012

    Re Wow

    The trouble with Sanders the schmuck is that he breaths in but he doesn’t breath out.

  29. #29 Kevin Sanders
    July 21, 2012

    Not sure if King Bloomberg wants it all for himself, but I would assume so since he wants it banned for everyone else. That’s usually how bans and mandates work. The ban or the mandate is for everyone else while the person who implemented the ban or mandate remains unaffected. See, the higher ups and rulers want to tell everyone else what to do, but they never follow theor own orders. They are exempt from their own rules. How convenient.

    SLC, breathing out causes global warming and I wouldn’t want to upset the professional UN Agenda 21 tyrants by producing more emissions than allowed by the UN population control standards charter.

  30. #30 Wow
    July 21, 2012

    You were certain earlier, kev.

  31. #31 ildi
    July 21, 2012

    Glad I live down south where his type of behavior can get you slapped. We eat what we want and we drink what we want becuase down here we are free men, not government slaves.

    …except when it come to sucking at the federal teat for government subsidies.

  32. #32 Kevin Sanders
    July 21, 2012

    “…except when it come to sucking at the federal teat for government subsidies.”

    Not everyone down south gets government benefits. If you are a white conservative male, forget it. They assume you are already at the top of the food chain. If you ever go into the wlefare office you swear Scottie beamed you to kenya or haiti or mexico.

    I guess I would be better off if i entered the country illegally. At least I wouldn;t have to pay taxes and I could get most services for free and save my money for important things like shiny spinner caps or boomboxes or cable televsion or the newest cell phone. You know, things “poor” people buy.

  33. #33 JimR
    July 22, 2012

    The Romney Uncertainty Principle

    If you can determine the position, you cannot determine the spin,

    Or if you can determine the spin, you cannot determine the position

  34. #34 JimR.
    July 22, 2012

    The Romney Uncertainty Principle starts with a position entering a closed observation locality. There are four measured properties which are important:
    The content of the position on being observed
    The momentum of the position, or its likely impact upon observation
    The energy created upon impact on the observer, and
    The spin created by the impact on the observer.
    The energy of reaction of the observer to the impact will affect the spin related to the position, which then may effect the content and/or its momentum. The position has the properties of a dipole and sufficient spin may result in a flip to affect disambiguation. The flip itself may also have consequential impact on another observer, especially if the second observer has polarity opposite to the first observer. One or more observers outside the observation locality may suffer mirth from the ensuing entropy as the energy is dissipated or negated.

    Perhaps the owner of this blog can provide the requisite mathematical formulation

  35. #35 Opus
    July 23, 2012

    Kevin has dedicated his life to proving that the educational system in the southern USA can provide the nation with graduates who are able to reason, carry on a conversation and interact with others on a high intellectual plane.

    He has failed.

  36. #36 Kevin Sanders
    July 23, 2012

    Opus has dedicate his/her/its life to proving that his/her/its educational system has failed by removing God and installing darwin as God in His stead. People who claim kin with apes are less likely to be peacful beings and are prone to violence when organized into herds or “protests” . Yes violent political demonstrations and the belief in monkeys turning into men is a clear sign of mental illness.

    Herds of monkey people often organize themselves into loud screaming rallies that they call protests. The purpose of these events remain unkown to scientists who study such animal behavior.

  37. #37 Wow
    July 24, 2012

    A) learn grammar. There are adult schools thst will help you here.
    B) Darwin isn’t a god. He wasn’t the first by millenia to think all life evolved from a common ancestor. All he did (and he wasn’t the only one) was give a mechanism by which species were “directed” without needing a director.

  38. #38 Xuuths
    July 24, 2012

    Kevin Sanders, were you home schooled? You sound home schooled, but not by anyone qualified.

  39. #39 Kevin Sanders
    July 24, 2012

    No I was NOT home schooled. I was government schooled. Your tax dollars, provided you are in the 45% of the population that actually pays taxes, paid for my education. See, if they taught grammar and spelling in place of sex, eco-fascist environment crap, and evolution, my grammar would be better. I guess when government schools replace authentic subject with left wing agendas, people come out spelling poor and wanting stuff for free.

    You make more money than me. Give me some of your money you evil greedy rich person.

  40. #40 Xuuths
    July 25, 2012

    My guess is that you were a poor student — lazy, apathetic, bad attitude, didn’t pay attention, etc.

    Here’s a tidbit from what everyone learns in high school government classes: everyone that gets paid (except for under-the-table) pays taxes. They are called… payroll taxes. Everyone that purchases something (except for cash transactions) pays taxes. They are called… sales taxes.

    Guess where the funding for your school came from?

    Sheesh, what a . . . [fill in the blank with some insulting but accurate term].

  41. #41 Wow
    July 25, 2012

    Kev, your school DID teach grammar and spelling.

    You weren’t learning.

    Wasting taxpayer dollars at an early age. You’ve just kept on thestreak…

  42. #42 Kevin Sanders
    July 25, 2012

    Not everyone pays payroll taxes. I personally know people with whom I work who pays 0 federal tax dollars. Well actually they very little and get a 5 digit tax return check back. So, in essence they are making more money than I am at a much less hourly rate of pay. Ask yourself if it is fair for someone who makes miniumum wage to make more money than someone who make 4 dollars an hour above minimum wage. Technically if you have illegitimate children and make a low salary you can get a $10,000 government check back. Sounds like buying votes to me.

    I paid attention to the important things in school. Crap lie evolution, environmental scams and other such things, I tuned out on purpose. I was a little lazy, but I was no hippie. I was not a bum. I did my homework and maked good grades, but never participated in intercurricicular activie. When that bell rang it was time to go HOME.

    I was okay with some subject but despised others. Algebra was the worst. The teacher was an ass that expected everyone to learn advanced alien mathematics in 5 seconds flat. She was one of those teachers that could solve a 42 page long problem in her head in under 6 seconds but she couldn’t understand which way the class door opened and how a doorknob functions. You know, smart, but a dumbass at the same time.

    I have found that most math geniuses are that way. All of their brain is devoted to one subject leaving the rest of reality a mystery.

    Besides, if I didn;t want to do my homework and had more important things I wanted to do I skipped it. In 42 trillion centuries who will care about Kevind Sanders skipping a 4th grade homework assignment? It makes little difference. Besides, homework should be banned. You get up at 6:00 am and ride the bus for an hour, stay in boring classes for 8 more hours and then another hour ride home on the bus with no air conditioning and a bunch of loudmouth brads and soon to be criminal gangsters, when i got home it was rest, relaxation, and recreation time, not more school time. They had taken enough of my day already. my turn to do something for myself for a change.

    I do work, but if I were not working and was sitting on my butt at home eating potatoe chips and watching maury Povich and collecting a government check, now THAT would be wasting taxpayer money. I have no repsect for people who merely take up space and get in the way doing it.

  43. #43 Kevin Sanders
    July 25, 2012

    Oh, and as for the spelling and grammar, what difference does it make on a site where people think that their ancestors were apes?

  44. #44 Wow
    July 26, 2012

    It makes a difference, kev.

    And not just because what you believe is going on is what your extremely limited intellect and understsnding interprets as going on here.

    We are apes. This is nothing to do with our ability to learn (except in your case)

  45. #45 Wow
    July 26, 2012

    There are CEOs paying one dollar in taxes. There are corporations posting record profits gettin a tax rebate.

    What is your point?

    That those who do most to keep the economy going are the poor? That they SPEND all their money, therefore pay a huge sales tax burden? That the ones with 13% of the wealth pay 25% of their money on taxe whilst the richest people and corporations get to pay less than 10%?

    What?

  46. #46 Kevin Sanders
    July 26, 2012

    We are apes? Speak for yourself my hairy palmed friend. I am HUMAN with a SOUL CREATED (not evolved) by an Almighty God.

    Yeah, yeah, CEOs pay little taxes and make big bucks. Are you jealous? Mitt Romney paid about 15% in taxes last year. That is still more taxes than some pay. I bet Mitt Romney and the rest of teh rich also do not receive welfare, medicaid, medicare, food stamps,earned income child credit and other such benefits either. The ones who get those benefits pay ZERO percent taxes and thenget huge benefits in return.

    We disagree on taxes, so I’ll make it fair for all.

    Let’s have a national 9% sales tax on non essential items. That way, teh rich will pay more becuase the will spend big money of luxury items and your “poor” people will rarely be affected unless they buy the latest big screen tv or a pair of night vision goggles or a Lexus. Is that not fair? A national sales tax is the most fair tax of all. The less you spend the less taxes you pay. The more you spend the more tax you pay. Fair to all. Even illegal aliens cannot escape a sales tax. Everytime they buy cigarretes or beer they get taxed. that makes up for sponging off our system eh?

    A national sales tax IN PLACE OF the income tax is the way to go. No paperwork, no filing, no hassle.

    Oh and I know your “poor” people. I work with them everyday. They cannot afford health insurance but somehow they all manage to drive nice big SUVs with extraordinarily expensive shiny wheels and a lavish but loud stereo system comlete with sattelite subscription. They are so “poor” that they qualify for food stamps but somehow manage to buy enough beer to get the whole state drunk and enough cigarettes to give everyone on the east coast lung cancer over night. They are so “poor” that they cannot afford housing or utilies and get aid, yet they can afford the top of the line cable pachage to watch on their new 76 inch LED television in their fairly new house that taxpayers probably footed the bill for.

    Yeah, I see your poor people every day. Seems t me like they have a issue with priorities more than money. If they spent their money on essential things instead of luxuries they might not have to have any aid at all.

  47. #47 Dan L.
    July 27, 2012

    Kevin Sanders:

    It’s making me sad to think of you squatting there in your parents’ basement, reaching across your capacious gut to pick Dorito dust out of your navel (if we’re lucky it’s just your navel). There’s a big, bright, beautiful world out there. Go enjoy it.

  48. #48 Wow
    July 27, 2012

    Kev, apes don’t have hairy palms.

    You’re thinking of werewolves.

  49. #49 Wow
    July 27, 2012

    Kev, the rest of the animal kingdom is getting up, moving away warily and telling the rest of the universe, “he’s not with us, right?” And the fungi are going “hey, don’t lumber US with him!”

  50. #50 Kevin Sanders
    July 27, 2012

    I know about the bright beautiful world. God created it that way.

    No such thing as a werewolf.

    The “rest” of the animals kingdom? Are you callingyourself a wild animal now? I am not an animal. I am human, with a soul CREATED, not evolved. If yo wish to refer to yourself as an animal, then surrender your way of life and go back to living in the wild.

  51. #51 donquijoterocket
    August 10, 2012

    @ Kevin I saw no one use the adjective wild.From what I’ve seen of your posts I’m not sure I’d put you in the animal kingdom either vegetable or mineral would seem to be more your speed.