Romney owes the small fortune he earned at Bain Capital to his ability to squeeze the sentimentality out of businesses. He used to be unapologetic about how he transformed the businesses he touched, but that was before Romney the Capitalist became Romney the Politician.
Because if capitalists cannot be sentimental, then politicians must be. The capitalist answers to the bottom line, but the politician answers to the public. Outsourcing and offshoring may be the right and logical thing to do from a business perspective, but the public will always be against them.
The public puts people ahead of profits, and therefore the politician must do likewise, at least on the campaign trail. Back in the corridors of power, away from the microphones, it’s a different story. Just two weeks ago, for instance, the Obama administration hosted secretive negotiations in San Diego on the latest trade deal with our Pacific trading partners that would give U.S. corporations even more incentives to invest overseas and take American jobs with them.
Now that Romney has been caught red-handed, he cops the “Shaggy defense,” saying “It wasn’t me.” But it was him, him and the rest of the investors, venture capitalists, business executives and politicians who’ve embraced the cruel logic of the marketplace.
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