Willard (Mitt) Romney looks like he will be the Republican candidate for President. Who is he? A lot of things, but at his core he seems to me to be a very competent big-money corporate guy. Let's take these one at a time, although in a different order.
Big money. Romney was born to a very wealthy family. All his life there has been money, big money, all around him and in his pockets.
Very capable. Romney has been able to take his money, his talents, and the connections and advantages big money gave him and create a very large fortune, somewhere around $200 million. While it is easy to make money when you've got money, Romney has gone far beyond this in his acquisition of great wealth. Romney also did an excellent job of running the Utah winter olympics and a decent job of running Massachusetts as governor -- including implementing near-universal health care. Romneycare was so successful that Obamacare mimics its key features: an individual mandate and health exchanges, although at the national level these will not kick in for another year or two.
Corporate. Romney's business experience doesn't come from making things, or servicing things, or building things; it comes from manipulating corporations. His firm bought corporations, usually with money borrowed against the firm's assets, extracted as much profit as they could, and sent them on their way. Some prospered, some failed, but Romney almost always made money either way (see 'Very Capable').
So here's the question of the year: do you want a very capable, big money, corporate guy to be President?
Sunday, January 8, 2012
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