... By the end of my days on Wall Street in 2004, I found the real Bain way so counterproductive that I no longer included Bain Capital on my buyer’s lists of private-equity firms for a company I was selling. ...William D. Cohan, WaPo
Not a pretty story. In case you missed it, Bloomberg analyst William Cohan has watched how Bain, with Romney as CEO, did business. After witnessing Romney/Bain's modus operandi, which he describes in some detail, Cohan doesn't sound like he'd vote for Mitt.
... Bain’s behavior also reveals something about the values it brings to bear in a process that requires honor and character to work properly. If a firm’s word is not worth the paper it is printed on, then its reputation for bad behavior will impair its ability to function in an honorable and productive way.
I don’t know if Bain Capital still uses the bait-and-switch technique when it competes in auctions these days (I’m told that it doesn’t). But that was the way the firm’s partners competed when Romney ran the place. This win-at-any-cost approach makes me wonder how a President Romney would negotiate with Congress, or with China, or with anyone else — and what a promise, pledge or endorsement from him would actually mean.
Would a President Romney, along with a Republican Congress, cut taxes for the wealthy even more than he has pledged to do? Would he not try to balance the federal budget, even though he has said he would? Would he protect defense spending, as he has indicated he would?
I have no idea how Romney might behave in office. I do believe, however, that Iwhen he was running Bain Capital, his word was not his bond. ...WaPo
Paul Krugman seems to be on the same track this morning. With all the anger directed at Wall Street these days, the very idea that Wall Street has a code of honor seems surprising. But it does. Depends on it.
...Bain would make the high bid for a company being offered for sale — then, after the other bidders had been sent away, would start finding things to complain about, and haggle the price down. This was, I gather, a major sin, since believe it or not Wall Street wheeling and dealing requires a high level of trust in one’s personal word.
This isn’t a policy issue; it’s the kind of thing I usually try to stay away from, the supposedly character-revealing nature of someone’s personal history. But as these things go, it’s especially interesting. Would you buy a used company — or a used ideology — from this guy? ...Paul Krugman
It should be embarrassing to Republicans. Is it?
