Shorter Mitt Romney:
You didn't build it -- I built it! Or at least the damn government didn't build it!Verbatim Mitt Romney, in a dull rehash of his economic philosophy in The Wall Street Journal titled "What I Learned at Bain Capital":
A broad message emerges from my Bain Capital days: A good idea is not enough for a business to succeed. It requires a talented team, a good business plan and capital to execute it. That was true of companies we helped start, like Staples and the Bright Horizons child-care provider, and several of the struggling companies we helped turn around, like the Brookstone retailer and the contact-lens maker Wesley Jessen....See? You didn't build it -- Mitt Romney did! So when Barack Obama says successful people don't become successful on your own, he's wrong -- er, he's right! No, wait...
My business experience confirmed my belief in empowering people. For example, at Bain Capital we bought Accuride, a company that made truck rims and wheels, because we saw untapped potential there. We instituted performance bonuses for the management team, which had a dramatic impact. The managers made the plants more productive, and the company started growing, adding 300 jobs while Bain was involved.
Well, in any case, the government does absolutely nothing of value:
My presidency would make it easier for entrepreneurs and small businesses to get the investment dollars they need to grow, by reducing and simplifying taxes; replacing Obamacare with real health-care reform that contains costs and improves care; and by stemming the flood of new regulations that are tying small businesses in knots.Government sucks! And so...
We are the most innovative, entrepreneurial nation in the world. To maintain that lead, we must give people the skills to succeed. My plan for a stronger middle class includes policies to give every family access to great schools and quality teachers, to improve access to higher education, and to attract and retain the best talent from around the world.Which has nothing whatsoever to do with the evil government! Entrepreneurs still build their businesses completely on their own -- except when Mitt Romney does it for them! Or good schools do! Um...
The second lesson is that we must have a level playing field in international trade. As president, I will challenge unfair trade practices that are harming American workers.Which also has nothing whatsoever to do with government!
Running a business also brings lessons in tackling challenges. I was on the board of a medical diagnostic-laboratory company, Damon, when a competitor announced that it had settled with the government over a charge of fraudulent Medicare billing. I and fellow Damon outside board members joined together and immediately hired an independent law firm to examine Damon's own practices.Oh, and government is evil! Even the part of government that unearthed the original fraud and put a stop to it!
The investigation revealed a need to make some changes, which we did. The company, along with several other clinical-laboratory companies, ended up being fined for billing practices. And a Damon manager who was responsible for the fraud went to jail. The experience taught me that when you see a problem, run toward it or it will only get worse.
Which is why:
I am committed to capping federal spending below 20% of GDP and reducing nondefense discretionary spending by 5%.Because fraud at Damon's competitor was really, really bad! Fraud at Damon was really, really bad! So we wouldn't want the government to have the resources it needs to investigate and prosecute fraud, would we?
FREEDOM! FREEDOM! FREEDOM! FREEDOM!
Mitt as Oprah:
ReplyDelete"You parents, you get a voucher!
You old poeple , you get a voucher!
For health care - EVERYBODY GETS A VOUCHER!!!"
Except corporations and military contractors, who get whatever they want - including cold, hard, government cash
And no regulations of course!
Oh, and the march to privatize EVERY facet of government - except the politicians needed to grease the wheels, and collect their pieces of the graft, will continue.
They'll start off this new round of privatization with something small - something like, oh... I don't know... SOCIAL SECURITY!
I hope Americans aren't foolish enough to buy the snakeoil this rich, grifting, sociopath is selling.
Honest Abe forgot one thing, though, when he talked about "fooling people" - he didn't include PT Barnum's philosophy in it.
Updated for today:
'Yeah, you can't fool all of the people all of the time.
But there were suckers born every minute, so your job is to fool enough of them to win.'
Wow. Very strange that Mitt would allude to Damon. His version of events is misleading of course. Federal prosecutors introduced evidence in court that showed the Medicare fraud didn't end until after Bain/Romney sold off Damon.
ReplyDeleteBut the fact he mentions it all is telling. I'm guessing his campaign believes that Obama is going to clobber him with this story in the final months. Mitt's already on record with the Boston Globe, about 10 years ago, with weasily explanations about his Damon role that don't smell right, and I've always suspected that Obama was holding this back for late in the campaign because it's so devastating to his businessman image.
Ahhhh....I didn't catch that Mitt is trying to describe himself as a mere bystander at Damon: "I and fellow Damon outside board members joined together..."
ReplyDeleteHe describes himself as a board member and outsider, without mentioning that he and Bain owned the company. Very slippery.
Well, it's not as if the whole private equity industry were heavily subsidized by the Federal government or anything.
ReplyDelete