Comments for Are Private Equity Firms Evil Doers? Washington Post Edition at http://www.cepr.net , comment 1 to 11 out of 11 comments http://www.cepr.net Thu, 20 Jun 2013 02:54:15 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/are-private-equity-firms-evil-doers-washington-post-edition#comment-14030 I have a theory: the reason Mitt isn't showing his tax returns is because they'll show that he wasn't born here. He looks French. That's probably where he comes from. - leo from chicago Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:44:55 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/are-private-equity-firms-evil-doers-washington-post-edition#comment-14027 Within this post may be the key to why Mr. Romney refuses to release his tax returns. The reason may not be because he paid an obscenely low percentage on his income. The fact is that Americans can't do math nor do they understand comparative relationships very well. If Mr. Romney paid 10% of his very large income that would still likely result in a pretty large number which the Republican echo chamber could distort. No, more likely Mr. Romney is reluctant to let us see details because of the vagaries of the tax code combined with the methods of private equity firms. It is quite likely that Mr. Romney was able to convert gains into interest losses which might result in those secret documents showing he had no tax liability. Now that would be something to be ashamed of and worth hiding. - Mark Jamison Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:18:13 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/are-private-equity-firms-evil-doers-washington-post-edition#comment-14023 It's called a bustout. If you go legit you can do it on a bigger scale, and you don't absolutely [i]have[/i] to destroy the company to ensure your profits. But the idea that you're not there to actually operate a business is the same. - paul Thu, 12 Jan 2012 07:22:39 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/are-private-equity-firms-evil-doers-washington-post-edition#comment-14012 "I like to fire people." Romney let the cat out of the bag and now everyone knows the truth: Schadenfreude is the operative emotion of Wall Street, even more than greed. Mitt Romney makes Gordon Gecko look like a piker. - Paul Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:43:50 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/are-private-equity-firms-evil-doers-washington-post-edition#comment-14010 "...dump[ing] pension obligations on the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation...does not provide any benefit to the economy." Not only that, but much suffering results. - Bart Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:39:22 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/are-private-equity-firms-evil-doers-washington-post-edition#comment-14009 Josh Kosman released a damning book about private equity firms in 2009 called "The Buyout of America" (Portfolio Hardcover). It's worth a more critical examination in this dicussion--even the Wall Street Journal endorsed it. - dejiridoo Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:29:55 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/are-private-equity-firms-evil-doers-washington-post-edition#comment-14008 Certainly Romney's work with Bain will be a centerpiece of Obama's campaign. Anybody would be stupid not to make it so. It would be a wonderful thing if this could be used as a teaching experience featuring Mr. Baker's points (especially the part about pensions). Sadly, I am also certain that most campaign ads featuring Romney's private equity background will be virtually content free. There was once a time when I hoped that Democrats would campaign on facts but now I see they wish to obfuscate almost as much as the Republicans. - Kat Wed, 11 Jan 2012 07:45:24 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/are-private-equity-firms-evil-doers-washington-post-edition#comment-14007 One of the more amazing things is the way our elite loves to tell "truthy" stories to themselves about those socialist hell holes in Western and Northern Europe and Japan. It also always escapes their notice that capitalist paragons of Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong have universal health care and public retirement systems. We are ruled by fools. - sherparick Wed, 11 Jan 2012 06:31:52 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/are-private-equity-firms-evil-doers-washington-post-edition#comment-14005 Let me rephrase my comment above: "It is all about the rules of the game. As long as it is profitable and legal (or even illegal but not prosecuted) it will be done. And those that don't lose out in the end. - Luke Lea Wed, 11 Jan 2012 04:27:20 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/are-private-equity-firms-evil-doers-washington-post-edition#comment-14001 It is all about the rules of the game. As long as it is profitable and legal (or even illegal but not prosecuted) it will be done. Changes in trade policy, immigration rates (and enforcement), tax rates (and enforcement), funding of SEC -- those are the kinds of things that are shaping the economy. All made in Washington D.C. - Luke Lea Wed, 11 Jan 2012 04:14:56 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/are-private-equity-firms-evil-doers-washington-post-edition#comment-13999 Any economist knows that transactions between buyers and sellers are voluntary - not forced. When a seller over exposes oneself [i]ex ante[/i]to intentionally induce a buyer to commit unwanted entry [i]ex post[/i] the outcome cannot be conveniently recast in hindsight as rape or raid on an innocent victim. As Rick Santorum would say, one makes the bed one must lie in ... with others. Stupid liberals. - izzatzo Wed, 11 Jan 2012 02:55:07 +0100