Taking Credit for the Work of Others

Definitely CEO material.

I stumbled upon this article about Mitt’s qualifications a few minutes ago. The writer seems tremendously smug in his knowledge of the many benefits Bain Capital has showered upon mankind over the years. What I fail to understand is what the hell running Bain Capital for the financial benefit of a few hundred people out of the entire population has to do with being president of 100% of the population.

Unfortunately a nation isn’t like a business you can simply liquidate if things go south. Or is it?

@Dave H: I’ll second that–liquidate the South.

@Dave H: Obama did a good job nailing the point a few days ago: vulture capitalism may have its place, but it’s not representative of capitalism as a whole. And all a vulture capitalist does is manage money. Herman Cain! actually has more relevant experience, since he managed a retail business.

And even that has limited applicability, since Cain! is proud of shutting down 200 stores to save the remaining 500. As somebody else said, unless we’re ready to cut Michigan loose, that won’t work.

I’m not sure which is my favorite part — the part where Halperin reminds Romney that the ability to read a balance sheet isn’t some rare skill or the part where Romney admits that immediately slashing the budget (as most Republicans claim to want to do) would wreck the economy — and I’m not even halfway through.

p.s. Your lede has a typo.

I hope everyone gets a chance to view Tony Soprano’s take on Bain Capital.
Romney was apparently prince of the leveraged buy-out – - where you use the acquired company’s assets to collateralize the buy-out loan. Then you sell off the assets pay yourself a handsome management fee and leave the business to flounder burdened with a hefty debt load. Very popular business vehicle a few years back. As I recall, the operators of these schemes were not well received in polite society.

Rmoney sure was a goodfella at Bane of Capital.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPtjyqgZAUk

@BobCens: These transactions are almost all fraudulent transfers under the bankruptcy laws because the company puts its assets in hock for no benefit to the company itself. No one cares unless/until they go bad, then the creditors care a lot. I litigated a couple of these before I left private practice to sue polluters and make them cry.

@nojo: Why all the sympathy? Why can’t we cut Michigan loose? And while we’re at it, the entire Confederacy? We’ll give our friends and family hiding in the progressive pockets a four week notice to put their asses in gear and at least get as far west as New Mexico or as far north as Ohio or Nebraska…then the door slams shut.

@mellbell: I don’t have uber-editor WordPress power to fix things like that, it’s up to some guy named Mike Lee to do it, or for Serolf to come back and see it and fix it. If anyone deserves super-duper-uber-power-of-copy-editor-of-typo superpowers, it’s you. (And Cynica and Flippin).

@mellbell: @SanFranLefty: Stand back, Citizens.

@nojo: We’re not worthy.

@mellbell: Okay, this is really my favorite part:

I’d love to see people have a choice, and I think the great majority of Americans would prefer getting their health insurance through their employer. And they feel that the employer is able to negotiate a better deal than they can negotiate themselves, and the great majority of Americans will continue to get their insurance in that way. There will be others, particularly sole proprietors, and folks perhaps out of work, folks coming out of college that will like the fact that they’re able to get insurance at a relatively moderate rate without having to be employed by a big company that’s providing that insurance purchase for them. And, so, in that case, the idea of letting individuals be able to buy health insurance on the same tax advantage basis that corporations can buy it for them is something that levels the playing field. What do I think will happen over time? Kind of hard to predict. But I think over time you’ll find that folks decide they like to own their own policy as opposed to have to wonder whether their employer might change the deal on them or if they change jobs that they might lose their insurance. And so I think that people will gravitate towards purchasing insurance on their own, but that’s only a guess. It may be that instead, no, the insurance companies are more effective in marketing through companies and people get their insurance through companies.

WTF, Mitt?

@mellbell: Whatever it is, he’s for it… or against it… it depends…

@SanFranLefty: Arizona goes, too. As I see it, the only serious logistical problem is the Austin Airlift.