Oh, hey, look who's benefitting from Bain Capital

[CPA]

I know Bain Capital is evil, just eeeeeeeevvvviiiilll, I tell you. They send jobs overseas and get rid of hard-working Americans. They help our enemies and hurt our friends. Oh, and also blah, blah, blah.

Not that out of the way, look who doesn't seem to have a problem with the returns they are getting from Bain:

Teacher's Pensions, Obama Supporters and Union Thugs

One of the largest investors, CalSTRS has even said that Bain Capital is the best investment in their portfolio.

And even better yet, even though the NY Attorney General, a Democrat, is investigating Bain on certain fee arrangements, the New York Common Pension actually agreed to the fee waiver.

As CalSTRS head said

"“The scrutiny generated by a heated election year matters less than the performance the portfolio generates to the fund,” California State Teachers’ Retirement System spokesman Ricardo Duran said in the Aug. 12 Boston Globe.

As usual, it's all politics, money and pulling the wool over the sheep's eyes.

You just can't make this stuff up.

 

[dank69]

I can't speak for everyone, but for me, this issue wasn't that Bain Capital was evil. It was that I don't want the country to be run the way Bain Capital is run, ie: outsourcing/downsizing. Don't let this get in the way of your rant though.

 

[Bowfinger]

Congratulations! You've just demonstrated that a great many Americans are greedy and morally bankrupt, prioritizing money over the best interests of America and Americans. This is especially true when the choice is between immediate financial gain vs. long term best interests, even when it includes their own.

 

[Tom]

Here's the issue with Bain Capital.

Romney wants to run the United States of America, and says we should let him because of his business acumen.

So examining what he did there, and what kind of company it is, is fair game.

And if people do that, lots of them are going to think that's no way to run a country.


edit- I'm a slow typer so I'm sorry for repeating some earlier poster's thoughts without acknowledging them.

 

[Bowfinger]

I can't speak for everyone, but for me, this issue wasn't that Bain Capital was evil. It was that I don't want the country to be run the way Bain Capital is run, ie: outsourcing/downsizing. Don't let this get in the way of your rant though.

My issue with companies like Bain is for whatever value they produce, it is dwarfed by the damage they cause. It is one thing to profit by 'building" things, i.e., providing goods and services that add value to society and our economy. Companies that simply shift money around, creating profit by skimming their generous cut off the top, are a drain on society. They grab profits for the few, at the expense of the many. In short, productive capitalism is good, vampire capitalism is harmful.

 

[DrPizza]

I know Bain Capital is evil, just eeeeeeeevvvviiiilll, I tell you. They send jobs overseas and get rid of hard-working Americans. They help our enemies and hurt our friends. Oh, and also blah, blah, blah.

Not that out of the way, look who doesn't seem to have a problem with the returns they are getting from Bain:

Teacher's Pensions, Obama Supporters and Union Thugs

One of the largest investors, CalSTRS has even said that Bain Capital is the best investment in their portfolio.

And even better yet, even though the NY Attorney General, a Democrat, is investigating Bain on certain fee arrangements, the New York Common Pension actually agreed to the fee waiver.

As CalSTRS head said As usual, it's all politics, money and pulling the wool over the sheep's eyes.

You just can't make this stuff up.

No, you can't make that stuff up. Let me compare it to something you understand though: Congressman A says, "I think it's wrong that we have all this pork barrel legislation." But, the rest of Congress doesn't get rid of it. Congressman A would be an IDIOT if he didn't get some pork for his own legislative district. Ditto things like stimulus money. Saying "I don't think we should give out stimulus money" does not make someone a hypocrite when they later say, "well, they're giving it out anyway; I better make sure my congressional district gets a piece of the pie."

edit: there have been plenty of threads here like that. "Look! He's against the stimulus spending, but he requested x-dollars for his district! OMG!" I find such statements to be incredibly simplistic, else made solely for the purpose of pretending that someone is a bad politician.

If Bain Capital has a great rate of return, it would be foolish not to invest simply out of the principle of what they stand for. Well, you can - there are people who refuse to allow their managed portfolios include companies like Phillip Morris, because they're against smoking. But most people are able to separate that emotion from logic & their desire to make money.

Or, to put it another way, there's a pizza shop owner nearby who is an absolute ass to his employees. I do try to avoid that shop, but sometimes I eat there - not because I agree that being an ass to employees is a good thing to do, but because I want something on their menu. Just because I eat there does not mean I endorse his practices towards his employees.

 

[Moonbeam]

The smart money, money without conscience, is on the vampire filled with the most blood. It's called filthy rich for a reason.

 

[bfdd]

DrPizza, that "Congressman A" is a terrible politician. Just because the game doesn't want to change, doesn't mean you should change for the game. Have some conviction and principle. To me that what Romney lacks and it's evident in the way he ran Bain Capital.

 

[monovillage]

Congratulations! You've just demonstrated that a great many Americans are greedy and morally bankrupt, prioritizing money over the best interests of America and Americans. This is especially true when the choice is between immediate financial gain vs. long term best interests, even when it includes their own.

Yes, and we call them Democrats.

 

[Incorruptible]

So the teachers union and those idiots who support obama think its alright to invest with Bain, bunch of idiots

 

[silverpig]

It's the standard problem of "give me more services, but lower my taxes, and balance the budget at the same time!"

They want a nice pension, don't care if that means their money goes to some ruthless PE firm, but also cry out that PE firms do evil things.

There could be a reasonable gripe here that the PE execs pay lower taxes than average joes. It's not what they do, it's how the spoils are divided up that kind of sucks.

 

[Genx87]

My issue with companies like Bain is for whatever value they produce, it is dwarfed by the damage they cause. It is one thing to profit by 'building" things, i.e., providing goods and services that add value to society and our economy. Companies that simply shift money around, creating profit by skimming their generous cut off the top, are a drain on society. They grab profits for the few, at the expense of the many. In short, productive capitalism is good, vampire capitalism is harmful.

Bain has expanded several business while increasing wealth for many many people via the OPs links. Was there some failures? Sure, but so what of it? Not every business is a success. What is your idea for America that is so vastly different from what a Bain has done in the past 20ish years? Never close a plant or business? Good luck. Even Obama shuttered a shitload of GM and thousands lost their jobs when the govt took it over.

 

[K1052]

It's no secret that pension systems have been increasingly turning to PE and hedge funds in a generally vain attempt to consistently generate above market returns out of desperation. Unfortunately many (or even most) of these companies are better at making money off the fees than actually obtaining such returns for their clients.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/07/calstrs-privateequity-idUSL6E8K7MEX20120907

http://www.economist.com/node/21543550

 

[Bowfinger]

Yes, and we call them Democrats.

No doubt YOU do, because you are a partisan hack. I call them Americans.

 

[Atreus21]

Congratulations! You've just demonstrated that a great many Americans are greedy and morally bankrupt, prioritizing money over the best interests of America and Americans. This is especially true when the choice is between immediate financial gain vs. long term best interests, even when it includes their own.

Everyone's greedy. Except you.

 

[Bowfinger]

Bain has expanded several business while increasing wealth for many many people via the OPs links. Was there some failures? Sure, but so what of it? Not every business is a success. What is your idea for America that is so vastly different from what a Bain has done in the past 20ish years? Never close a plant or business? Good luck. Even Obama shuttered a shitload of GM and thousands lost their jobs when the govt took it over.

Don't be such an apologist for Bain. Did they help some companies? Sure, when they could figure out how to skim maximum profit from doing so. Did they also destroy both companies and lives to benefit themselves, in spite of the long term harm? Yes, yes they did. The point is the little good they did with their vampire capitalism is far outweighed by the bad.

 

[BoberFett]

My issue with companies like Bain is for whatever value they produce, it is dwarfed by the damage they cause. It is one thing to profit by 'building" things, i.e., providing goods and services that add value to society and our economy. Companies that simply shift money around, creating profit by skimming their generous cut off the top, are a drain on society. They grab profits for the few, at the expense of the many. In short, productive capitalism is good, vampire capitalism is harmful.

That's not entirely true. While moving money around pointlessly is a drain on society, so is inefficiency. Profiting by creating efficiencies frees up resources for alternative use. Buggy whip makers probably would have been upset at being bought out by Bain and stripped for parts as well.

 

[Atreus21]

Or, to put it another way, there's a pizza shop owner nearby who is an absolute ass to his employees. I do try to avoid that shop, but sometimes I eat there - not because I agree that being an ass to employees is a good thing to do, but because I want something on their menu. Just because I eat there does not mean I endorse his practices towards his employees.

No, but it does mean his practices are not sufficiently awful to merit you boycotting them.

 

[Bowfinger]

Everyone's greedy. Except you.

No, everyone is not greedy. People with screwed priorities are greedy. Many Americans, perhaps even still a majority of Americans, understand that money is a means to an end, not an end unto itself. They hang on to old-fashioned values like doing unto others, happiness, family, being a good neighbor, just generally being a good person. You know, obsolete values like that.

 

[Bowfinger]

That's not entirely true. While moving money around pointlessly is a drain on society, so is inefficiency. Profiting by creating efficiencies frees up resources for alternative use. Buggy whip makers probably would have been upset at being bought out by Bain and stripped for parts as well.

Indeed, but you don't need a Bain for that. Yes, Bain may have provided such direction to companies whose leaders lacked it, but it was incidental to and dwarfed by Bain's primary goal of skimming as much money as possible regardless of the greater costs. That is my point.

 

[Atreus21]

My issue with companies like Bain is for whatever value they produce, it is dwarfed by the damage they cause. It is one thing to profit by 'building" things, i.e., providing goods and services that add value to society and our economy. Companies that simply shift money around, creating profit by skimming their generous cut off the top, are a drain on society. They grab profits for the few, at the expense of the many. In short, productive capitalism is good, vampire capitalism is harmful.

"creating profit"? How do you "create profit"? Revenue - Expenditures = profit. Profit isn't just arbitrarily designated.

Profits serve to signal what is needed (in demand) to producers.

 

[Atreus21]

No, everyone is not greedy. People with screwed priorities are greedy. Many Americans, perhaps even still a majority of Americans, understand that money is a means to an end, not an end unto itself. They hang on to old-fashioned values like doing unto others, happiness, family, being a good neighbor, just generally being a good person. You know, obsolete values like that.

Everyone is indeed greedy, according to everyone else.

Me? I'm just acting in my own self-interest. But I think you should exercise some goddamned restraint. You don't need to maximize your income. Think of other people who could use that money. Don't be so greedy.

 

[Moonbeam]

DrPizza, that "Congressman A" is a terrible politician. Just because the game doesn't want to change, doesn't mean you should change for the game. Have some conviction and principle. To me that what Romney lacks and it's evident in the way he ran Bain Capital.

Jesus, learn something about game theory. If you expect human beings to be something other than human beings, start a new race and leave us worthless self interested bastards alone. You should have principle. Let me tell you something, dummy, the folk who had principles and allowed others to feed on the carcass first had genes that went extinct.

 

[cybrsage]

Just another thread showing that Obama supporters say he can do no wrong. Yawn.

 

[Moonbeam]

That's not entirely true. While moving money around pointlessly is a drain on society, so is inefficiency. Profiting by creating efficiencies frees up resources for alternative use. Buggy whip makers probably would have been upset at being bought out by Bain and stripped for parts as well.

Yup, that's why the oil industry promotes selling out so green energy firms can take its place. Please oh please, congress, destroy our industry, it's killing the world. We want to die and you can help us.