Will You Vote to Let Romney Screw All Companies Bain Capital Style?

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THE NATIONAL MEMO

Monday, January 16, 2012

THE BIG STORY, BY JOE CONASON

Bain Capitalism: Subsidies, Tax Breaks — And Bust-Outs?

Mitt Romney complains loudly and often about the “European” policies of the Obama White House, from excessive deficits and debt to government subsidies of industry. But his ultra-lucrative career at Bain Capital shows this carping is more rhetorical (and recent) than sincere. His inflated boasts of job creation appear to derive from companies that depended on government grants, tax favors, and other public benefits.

Even worse, however, Romney seems to have been unfazed by excessive borrowing when he worked in the private sector. For instance, Bain piled debt on a steel company it acquired, took the borrowed proceeds as “dividends,” and left the workers and the government to cope with the subsequent bankruptcy. Someday perhaps, Romney will explain just how this predatory style differs from what the mob used to call a “bust-out scheme.” READ MORE