[boriscleto]

Greed and Debt: The True Story of Mitt Romney and Bain Capital | Politics News | Rolling Stone

The incredible untold story of the 2012 election so far is that Romney's run has been a shimmering pearl of perfect political hypocrisy, which he's somehow managed to keep hidden, even with thousands of cameras following his every move. And the drama of this rhetorical high-wire act was ratcheted up even further when Romney chose his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin – like himself, a self-righteously anal, thin-lipped, Whitest Kids U Know penny pincher who'd be honored to tell Oliver Twist there's no more soup left. By selecting Ryan, Romney, the hard-charging, chameleonic champion of a disgraced-yet-defiant Wall Street, officially succeeded in moving the battle lines in the 2012 presidential race.

Four years ago, the Mitt Romneys of the world nearly destroyed the global economy with their greed, shortsightedness and – most notably – wildly irresponsible use of debt in pursuit of personal profit. The sight was so disgusting that people everywhere were ready to drop an H-bomb on Lower Manhattan and bayonet the survivors. But today that same insane greed ethos, that same belief in the lunatic pursuit of instant borrowed millions – it's dusted itself off, it's had a shave and a shoeshine, and it's back out there running for president.

[jogiba]

The FDIC ultimately agreed to give Bain & Company a $10 million bailout (in the form of "debt forgiveness"). The reason: analysts working for the agency — through a company called RECOLL — believed that Romney's firm would otherwise "fail," and the government would see very little money from the firm's dissolution after Romney doled out the final round of bonus pay.

Read more: Mitt Romney's Federal Bailout: The Documents Pictures | Rolling Stone

[wildman]

Thanks - I really have to read more of the Rolling Stone.

[Nesster]

What really ticks me off: the supposed Free Market that Bain and its ilk operate in? The success of unregulated business, etc etc. Where in fact the entire business model is based on the exploitation of government tax policy. Borrowing cost is deductible, profit and income is taxable, and cost to carry and capital gains get preferential treatment. This business model does not work if it weren't for all the tax angles.

Free market indeed.

[boriscleto]

Daily Kos: The Party's Over! Bain Capital Under Investigation For Tax Evasion

Bain Capital, the private equity firm founded by presidential candidate Mitt Romney, is under investigation for questionable tax practices, according to the New York Times. Since July, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has been issuing subpoenas to private equity firms including Bain, which he believes intentionally changed management fees into capital gains as a way of hanging onto millions of dollars that would have otherwise been taxed at a higher rate. Bain alone is estimated to have saved “more than $200 million in federal income taxes and more than $20 million in Medicare taxes.” It is unclear whether the tax strategy was used while Romney was at the helm of the company, but the Times reports that Romney is still making money on funds that are using the method in question. A lawyer who handles Romney’s money says he “can confirm that neither he nor the trust has ever done this, whether before or after he retired from Bain Capital.” Still, little is known about Romney’s finances, except that he makes a windfall on capital gains each year, since he has refused to release his tax returns.