“Mitt Romney’s history at Bain Capital is not going to help his image as a job creator. Now, we want to disclose that NBC Universal and Bain Capital are each a part owner of the Weather Channel. Bain Capital’s main business model is buying companies like American Pad and Paper and restructuring [industry code for 'slash and burn'] them. In many instances, Bain turned a profit by strip mining these companies. American, AMPAD is what it’s known, the stock was driven down [on purpose by Romney, I explain a little further in the article] and the company went bankrupt. They fired hundreds of workers along the way.”-Ed Shultz, MSNBC
MSNBC is admitting that a company affiliated with NBC, Bain Capital co-founded by Mitt Romney, has been destroying jobs, not creating jobs as Romney claims.
In 1984 Romney co-founded Bain Capital, which grew out of Bain & Company. The soul purpose of the company is to buy out other companies, then gut them and sell them off piece by piece. Of course this means jobs are destroyed.
Interestingly, back in October, MSNBC’s Ed Shultz actually downplayed Romney’s connection to Bain Capital. He and some of his guests, stated that a photo published in the Boston Globe was fake: “…it’s probablly a joke photo.”
Now Ed Shultz is backpedaling. He, along with other MSNBC anchors and reporters, are revealing that Bain Capital has been behind many of the job loses in this country since the late 1980s!
The New York Times reported that Romney left Bain Capital in 1999, but, as part of his ‘retirement package’ is making money off their continued slashing and burning of U.S. jobs. According to the article, Romney, 13 years after leaving Bain Capital, is still making millions of dollars off his retirement package!
Former location of KB Toys, Pine Ridge Mall, Chubbuck, Idaho
Anybody remember KB Toys? I do. I was an employee of the Chubbuck, Idaho, Pine Ridge Mall at the time they closed down the KB Toys store in that mall. By 2004 KB Toys went bankrupt and 3,400 people lost their jobs! Guess what, one of Bain Capital’s affiliated companies was behind that!!!
Fading Pine Ridge Mall, Chubbuck, Idaho
Oh, and what about Romney’s connection to Massachusetts? Romney ‘retired’ from Bain Capital in 1999. The Bain Capital partnership took over KB Toys in 2000. KB Toys is headquartered in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Romney became governor of Massachusetts in 2002. In 2003 the Bain Capital partnership started shutting down KB Toys stores. Mmmm, connection?
Here are some more examples of deals that resulted in job losses at the hands of Romney’s Bain Capital (and affiliated companies like Holson Burnes Group): Clear Channel Communications, 2,500 job cuts.
Photo album factory in South Carolina, 150 jobs lost.
Sensata Technologies, a European company with U.S. operations, several hundred U.S. employees lost their jobs.
American Pad & Paper, or AMPAD, lost 185 jobs.
The case of AMPAD reveals how Romney’s Bain Capital works. They buy up companies in the same market, then they whittle them down until there is only one or two in the market, who then become big money makers by default. AMPAD’s competitor was Staples. Romney touts Staples as a good example of his management skills, but what the Boston Globe found out (and reported in a 2007 article) is that Romney simply bought out competitors and shut them down until Staples was just about the only game left in town.
Now how about the KB Toys deal? KB Toys and Toys “R” Us were the top toy stores in the United States. A company connected to Bain Capital buys out KB Toys and shuts them down. What about Toys “R” Us? Yes there’s a Bain Capital connection. In 2005, one year after the KB Toys bankruptcy, Toys “R” Us was taken over by KKR Group, Vornado Realty Trust and Bain Capital for $6.6 billion! In 2009 Toys “R” Us takes over what is left of KB Toys; website, trademarks, and intellectual property rights. Mmmm, you seeing the pattern?
This goes against the principle of the free hand of capitalist competition. The jobs lost because companies went out of business were not actually due to any ‘poor’ performance of the employees, or lack of sales, but because the ‘investors’ Romney & Co wanted it that way!
Also, Bain Capital works the same way the rest of Corporate America does, they don’t use their own money to take over companies, they take out huge loans from the too big to fail banks that got taxpayer bailouts!
One report said Romney’s “investments” have resulted in at least 12,000 U.S. jobs lost! It’s probably more than that, the way Bain Capital and affiliated companies shut down businesses does not result in net jobs gained, but net jobs lost! Anybody remember Oliver Stone’s 1987 movie Wall Street?
“Given the precedent set by past seven Presidents and Presidential candidates of releasing multi-year tax returns why is Romney making an exception?” Because he has a lot to hide, apparently.
He’s the only one that knows what’s in there, and apparently he’s made the judgement that he’s better off having us suspect the worst, rather than us knowing whats in there, which apparently in his mind is worse than anything we’re likely to imagine.
Possibilities include:
(1) He ended up with 120 million in his 401K by the trick of agreeing with Bain to grossly undervalue the market value of his stock, then a few years later have the stock get unvalued to the stratosphere.
(2) He participated in the tax avoidance amnesty program of a few years back, avoiding major tax penalties or prosecution.
(3) Any one or more of the other borderline legal but very bad smelling tax dodges– “in-kind” trades, “no-risk” trades, no-risk write-offs, the list is almost endless.
And BTW he HASNT even released all of his 2010 return, he very conveniently left off the foreign investments and deposits form. Very convenient.
And his argument that it would be “bothersome” to collect the tax data is a crock too– he supposedly collected 23 years of the stuff to show to McCain in 2008.
Ajay Jain===================================================================================
Republicans betrayed their own conscience when they went against established Republican principles like the MANDATE over healthcare which was a Heritage foundation issue popularized by Gingrich.
Obama did more than his share to UNITE but the Republicans were out to oppose for opposing sake and not following any policy or principles. In the famous words of Minority Senate Leader Mitch McConnell the Republicans were out to defeat the Obama agenda even if it went against established Republican policies set by past precedent.
Mitch McConnell was out to make sure that President Obama remains a one term President and see where it has brought the Congress and its public esteem.
Gingrich out of his own admission was out to defeat Obama from the day he was sworn in as President.
You can not justify the Republicans as the “loyal” opposition as is the case in most mature democracies. They have been out to get President Obama by hook or by crook. A leader can meet the opposition half way but can not fold completely to their whims and fantasies like that of the current Tea Party affiliates.
Republicans will loose in 2012 just like they did in 2008 but with a smaller margin because of the dark money of Billionaires due to Citizens United verdict of the right wing Supreme Court.
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” … Mitt Romney senior adviser Ed Gillespie said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” the GOP candidate “retroactively” retired from Bain Capital after the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics began. … ”
No body who has been drawing at LEAST $100,000.00 per year from 1999 to 2002 from Bain Capital “retroactively” retires from Bain Capital AFTER the 2002!!! Then why draw the salary of at LEAST $100,000.00 per year from 1999 to 2002 from Bain Capital if Romney retired from Bain “retroactively” !!!
” … Gillespie continued, “He took a leave of absence and, in fact, Candy, he ended up not going back at all and retired retroactively to February of 1999 as a result.” … ”
However SEC documents show Mitt Romney as sole owner of all shares of Bain Capital. Romney is also shown as CEO, President and Chairman of Board of Bain Capital in 2001 and 2002 then LEGALLY speaking Mitt Romney has been responsible to all that goes on under the banner of Bain Capital. Then to run for Governor of MA Romney sought residency of MA by lieu of his Bain positions. Now either Romney was at the Olympics OR he was at BAIN.
Only one can be true not BOTH at the same time simultaneously!!! Will the true Willard Mitt Romney stand up and accept ONE thing? Does Romney want to accept untrue SEC filings and be called a Felon or agree that he represented Bain from 1999 to 2002?
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On Friday the 13th (7/13/2012) the very illusive Mitt Romney gave very defensive interviews to all FIVE networks on a single day at once!! Just a few days ago Mitt Romney said to FOX News that explaining means that you are WEAK. So his five interviews “explaining” his time at Bain were signs of his weakness!!
Presidential Candidate Mr. Mitt Romney maybe feeling the heat on his role in BAIN Capital, his business experience which was supposed to be his sole criteria for creating jobs and his greatest qualification for running for the American Presidency in the current economy in 2012!
However SEC documents show Mitt Romney as sole owner of all shares of Bain Capital. Romney is shown as CEO, President and Chairman of Board of Bain Capital in 2001 and 2002 then LEGALLY speaking Mitt Romney has been responsible to all that goes on under the banner of Bain Capital.
Mitt Romney can not just share the good like job creation from 1999 to 2002 and leave the ugly like Bankruptcies and layoffs behind as if he had nothing to do about them from 1999 to 2002.
If he really wanted to disassociate himself from Bain Capital he could have resigned and sold all his shares in Bain Capital in February 1999 then it would have been a different matter but to share in the glory of Bain’s job creation accept a salary of $100,000 or MORE (where are the Tax Returns?) for three years and only to refuse to take the responsibility of Bankruptcies and layoffs on his WATCH (1999-2002) is trying to have it both ways and then complaining of playing politics having been caught with his hand in the proverbial Cookie Jar that is the very essence of an ACTIVE LEGAL ROLE in Bain Capital till 2002!! Was Romney getting $100,000.00 or more to do NOTHING for BAIN Capital???
Mitt Romney will have to face the consequences of this leaving Bain “lie” that Mitt Romney has brought on upon himself. If we keep reminding the Romney campaign of the Bain exit lie and Romney’s ill effects on workers robbing them of their hard earned salaries and life long benefits all the way to November then 7/13/2012 (FRIDAY the 13th) will go down as the turning point of the 2012 Presidential election!
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Two-Faced Willard
“I was not responsible for what happened at Bain Capital” – Mitt Romney
“I was the Sole shareholder, Sole director, Chief executive officer and President of Bain” – Mitt Romney
“The Arizona immigration policy is a good model” – Mitt Romney
“I didn’t really support the Arizona immigration policy” – Mitt Romney
“The Massachusetts healthcare plan should be a model for the nation” – Mitt Romney
“Healthcare reform should be left to the states” – Mitt Romney
“Let Detroit go bankrupt” -Mitt Romney
“I’ll take a lot of credit for saving the auto industry” -Mitt Romney
“I believe Roe v Wade has gone too far.” – Mitt Romney
“Roe v Wade has been the law for 20 years we should sustain and support it.” – Mitt Romney
“I respect and will protect a woman’s right to choose.” – Mitt Romney
“I never really called myself pro-choice.” – Mitt Romney
“It was not my desire to go off and serve in Vietnam.” – Mitt Romney
“I longed in many respects to actually be in Vietnam and represent our country there.” – Mitt Romney
“I’m not trying to return to Reagan-Bush.” – Mitt Romney
“Ronald Reagan is… my hero.” – Mitt Romney
“I think the minimum wage ought to keep pace with inflation.” – Mitt Romney
“There’s no question raising the minimum wage excessively causes a loss of jobs.” – Mitt Romney
“I saw my father march with Martin Luther King.” – Mitt Romney
“I did not see it with my own eyes.” – Mitt Romney
“I would like to have campaign spending limits.” – Mitt Romney
“The American people should be free to advocate for their candidates without burdensome limitations.” – Mitt Romney
“I supported the assault weapon ban.” – Mitt Romney
“I don’t support any gun control legislation.” – Mitt Romney