Bain, Romney Attacks - Anticapitalist Claptrap

by CarterFliptMe

In a podcast from Friday, January 13, 2012, Mark Belling of News Talk 1130 WISN called BS on Newt Gingrich and others for anti-capitalist attacks on Mitt Romney and his work at Bain Capital.  Belling cites the brilliant article in The Wall Street Journal, How Private Equity Works by Jonathan Macey, in which Macey calls the general assertions that Bain Capital was 'looting' companies and engaging in 'vulture capitalism' as ".. anticapitalist claptrap."

Newt Gingrich's political action committee is sponsoring a film called "When Mitt Romney Came to Town" that accuses Mr. Romney and his former company, Bain Capital, of taking over companies, looting them, and then tossing their workers out on the street. Jon Huntsman's attacks on his rival include the description of private equity as a business that "breaks down businesses [and] destroys jobs, as opposed to creating jobs and opportunity, leveraging up, spinning off, [and] enriching shareholders."

This is anticapitalist claptrap. Private-equity firms make significant investments in companies, mainly U.S. companies. Most of their investments are in companies that underperform industry peers. Frequently these firms are on the brink of failure.

Because private-equity firms are, by definition, equity investors, they make money only if they improve the performance of their companies. Private equity is last in line to be paid in case of insolvency. Private-equity firms don't make a profit unless their companies can meet their obligations to workers and other creditors.

The companies in which private-equity investors are able to turn a profit generally grow, rather than shrink. This is because the preferred "exit strategy" by which private-equity firms profit is to take the private companies in which they invest and enable them to go public and sell shares that will help the company grow even stronger. As for turnaround success stories, Continental Airlines, Orbitz and Snapple have all benefitted at some time from private-equity investment.

Here's the podcast.