As former founder and CEO of Bain Capital, Mr. Romney did create a lot of jobs, unfortunately, not in this country. He specialized in acquiring troubled companies, loading them with egregious debt while reaping unbelievable profits. About 30 percent of the companies Bain purchased, over the years, failed. But, failed or successful, it did not matter, as venture capitalists like Bain and Mr. Romney walked away with huge profits.
In the past 30 years, 60,000 factories have been closed in the U.S., with operations off-shored to China, Vietnam, Malaysia, etc. About 50,000 of those 60,000 were closed in the years 2000 to 2008. Bain has had a hand in the closing of many of those factories. Indirectly, so has Mr. Romney.
Of course, Mr. Romney is no longer, officially, affiliated with Bain. However, Bain is still run by the management group he left in place upon his departure. Mr. Romney does continue to collect, as part of his retirement agreement, his annual share of Bain’s profits since his departure in 1999. And, since leaving Bain, Mr. Romney and his wife have earned a minimum of $5.6 million in a Bain-run family blind trust.
The day after the election, Sensata Technologies, a Bain acquisition, a 60-year-old plant, with a cool profit margin of $300 million, will close, and move, machines and equipment included, to China. Everything will go except the 170-plus employees, who will be without their jobs and pensions. These American workers are losing their jobs to Chinese workers who will be paid 99 cents an hour, and no benefits. All, so Bain can have higher profit margins.
Given Mr. Romney’s track record with Bain, it is not at all hopeful that he will be creating jobs for anyone in this country.
—Nanci Flesher
Moab