-
The Economics of Settlement
June 8, 2011 | 116 comments
-
The California Green Debauch
February 16, 2011 | 74 comments
Feature
Romney, Bain, and Me
Mitt Romney’s experience with the remarkable supply-sider Bill Bain is reason enough to expect big things from his presidency. From our September issue.
IN THE EARLY 1980s, soon after the publication of Wealth & Poverty, I received a phone call from a man with a mellow mid-Southern accent, honed from roots in rural Tennessee and long years talking down to top executives of American enterprise. William Bain was the name, “but everyone calls me Bill,” he said. I had never heard of him, or his eponymous company, a consulting firm in Boston with ambitions in venture capital, but I was soon on board calling him “Bill” and listening closely to what he had to say.
He invited me to speak to his team of Bain & Company partners, and also, if he might…no Offense…he wanted to impart some ideas of his own, some points I might have missed on supply-side economics.“We’ve done some research,” he said, “that shows the theory is much more general and powerful than even you believe.”
As one unused to charges of underestimating the power of supply-side theory, I was intrigued. I went on to give many hundreds of speeches and do scores of debates with such figures as Robert Reich, the Harvard professor who became secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton; Lester Thurow, the eminent MIT professor and bestselling author;And the legendary six-foot-eight-inch tribune of tall taxes, John Kenneth Galbraith of Harvard and Gstaad, Switzerland. I received astonishing fees of up to six figures (a level I breached for an event in Cambridge, UK, for a German bank). At the time, supply-side was that hot. But every speech and book that I produced from then on bore the imprint of my conversations with people at Bain. I learned more from them than from any other audience or, if truth be told, from my four years of Harvard, which included little economics beyond disgruntled attendance at a lecture by Galbraith reading out loud word-for-word from his bestselling book.
What I gathered from Bain was the key role of learning and information in economics. Later I immersed myself in the works of Claude Shannon, MIT’s legendary inventor of mathematical information theory and conceiver of the information “bit” as a unit of surprise. But even before I received these theoretical underpinnings, the practical lesson in information economics that I gained 30 years ago with Bain was transformative. It replaced the stimulus and response incentive structure of original supply- side theory with the sound microeconomic underpinnings of learning, information, and entrepreneurial surprise.
Across from the oldest cemetery in Boston under chandeliers at the Parker House, the Bain meeting brought together, as I recall, perhaps 100 men in suits. Notable in the group were Bain himself, a spruce young man with blond hair brushed straight back, and an Israeli woman, Orit Gadiesh, who within 10 years would rise to the top of the organization.But Bain seemed more eager to introduce me to one Mitt Romney.
I recall
the introduction vividly, and not just because of a dismal year I
had spent working for his father, George, then the governor of
Michigan, in 1966 and 1967, ghosting an unpublished presidential
campaign tract called The Mission and the Dream. I had
been a speechwriter for Nelson Rockefeller, a dyslexic who treated
his writers as royalty. Romney treated my emergent tome with all
the gravity he might have devoted to the owner’s manual for the
Nash Rambler.I ultimately learned from my time in Lansing that the
worst periods of your life can be redemptive (I would later learn,
as a dot-com-era businessman, that the euphoric times can be
catastrophic).
Worked out during dark months in a motel in Lansing with only occasional interaction with the supposed author—who was guarded by a coterie of careful protectors from any haunting by ghosts from east of Grosse Pointe—the research and themes of The Mission and the Dream foreshadowed and enabled Wealth & Poverty. My lack of a paycheck as his campaign collapsed impeded my futile efforts to date the damsels of Michigan State and left me subsisting on ever more dubious items from deep in my motel refrigerator. My ordeal was not improved by my residual link to the Rockefellers, embodied in a borrowed white Plymouth, whose parking tickets from extended stays on the street in front of the Romney office—ignored by me—went to 5600 Rockefeller Plaza in New York, followed in the course of time by two solemn state policemen from Michigan, who traveled all the way to Rockefeller Center to collect the money. This pilgrimage marked a low point in my relations with both the Eastern Establishment and the Romney campaign.
Romney’s failure to pay me, however, did allow me to keep the research and writing from The Mission and the Dream. With a rapidity that would have been impossible starting from scratch, a decade or so later I could turn it into the book that popularized supply-side economics and made me Ronald Reagan’s most quoted living author.
I REMEMBERED MITT at the Parker House because of his striking looks, confidence, and charisma, which I remarked at the time were even more impressive than his father’s. Winner of joint degrees from Harvard Business and Law Schools, he had been one of the leading candidates in the country for the super-competitive realms of the Boston consultancies. More significantly, I believe, he conveyed the gravitas of a graduate of the Mormon school of hard knocks and hair shirts as a missionary for two years selling his religion’s bread-and-water regime in Bordeaux, France. He had also been a narrow survivor of a fatal head-on collision with the careening car of a local Catholic priest, which took the life of the wife of Romney’s mission president.
Consultants
with a modus operandi, unique to Bain, of attaching themselves to
companies only at the CEO level, none of these young corporate
quarterbacks showed any propensity for attentive service on the
benches of life. These were young men, alone in America, with the
leverage and audacity to advise famously imperious chief executive
officers on lifeand- death matters in their companies. But at the
Parker House meeting in 1981, among all these luminaries, Mitt was
already clearly ascendant.
He seemed only mildly interested in my association with his father, and he gave me the impression That I had lived in Lansing longer than he had. Out in Lansing, I had come to admire George as a man who got up every morning at five and played a round of golf with three golf balls in parallel, while running from shot to shot. He was a magnificent creature, an inspirational entrepreneurial leader at American Motors, and an exemplary father for Mitt. But I eventually found him gullible to the point of brainwashing about liberal ideas.
The elder Romney was abashed by Ivied expertise, the great peril of establishment Republicans from the time of both Bushes through the presidential candidacy of John McCain. All cherish the illusion that leading Yale, Harvard, and Princeton economists possess some useful wisdom about the economy. They generally don’t. Their preoccupation with static macroeconomic data blinds them to the actual life and dynamics of entrepreneurship. Their preoccupation with liabilities and debt blinds them to the impact of their policies on the value of economic assets. Their GDP model, which measures everything as kinds of spending, pushes them to manipulative policies and redistributions inimical to business equity value and growth, innovation, and creativity. Believing that a weaker dollar is just the thing to spur a sluggish economy, by hyping the spending category of “net exports,” they miss the consequent devaluation of all the assets of the country.
George Romney capitulated to these forces. His great achievement as a big-spending governor of Michigan was the enactment of a state income tax.As Nixon’s secretary of housing and urban development, he followed the liberal temptation into a series of ineffectual big-government programs. Tangentially ensnared by a scandal surrounding FHA and Ginnie Mae mortgage-based securities that he pioneered, he even could be described as an early source of the feel-good finance of confectionary home ownership that ultimately brought the economy down at the end of the Bush years.
I was hopeful that the son would surpass the father as a man with a mind of his own, resistant to the wiles of wishy-washy “compassionate conservatism,” the Republican form of Obama’s hopeychange.Thus I looked on with nothing short of horror at his can-you-top-this effort to win a Massachusetts Senate race by sloughing off every principle of his upbringing to thread his way down the slim sidelines to the left of Ted Kennedy.
He even repudiated Reagan, who had actually won Massachusetts twice.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (58) | Leave a comment
More Articles by George Gilder
More Articles From Feature
http://spectator.org/archives/2012/08/31/romney-bain-and-me
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
Current Issue
- His Reach Exceeded His Grasp
- Confessions of a Soft-Drinking Newspaperman
- Back in the Fray
SPONSORED LINKS
FLASHBACK TO: 1995
-
Pope Culture
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
-
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
-
Dames at Sea
-
In the Absence of Guns
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
-
The Metaphysical Martini
-
Counting the Costs of Clintonism
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
-
Chuck McHagel
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
-
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted
-
It’s the Best Time of the Year
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
-
The Bush Crack-Up
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
Clip of the Day
ADVERTISEMENT
TLP| 8.31.12 @ 6:38AM
McCaskill 45. Aikin 44.
Have a nice day.
MK48| 8.31.12 @ 10:23AM
TLP...I think it's Akin.......no matter he will win anyway.
Stephie| 8.31.12 @ 10:30PM
Well, I guess that comment has all but been forgotten. Hope he wins, we win the senate and the house and repeal the disaster that is obamacare. oops! Was that racist?
Alan Obama Fan Brooks | 8.31.12 @ 5:06PM
You guys have been saying chirpy things about Supply Side for the 23 1/2 years since Reagan left office-- but nothing whatsoever has been done.
It is all boilerplate.
Jack in Wi| 8.31.12 @ 7:21AM
The problms are too vast and too complicated to be resolved with only a supply side solution. Massive and permanent cuts have to be made in government. Lets start with cutting off all foreign aid, and bringing the troops home from overseas. The Cold War has been over for over 2 decades. The country is bankrupt and our troops are broken by repeated deployments to nonsense wars. Then cut off all corporate welfare and subsidies for banksters, farmers, and foreigners. Slash bloated government pension and healthcare bennefits. Then maybe we could look for some savings on entitlements. It is all beyond what Romney and Ryan, will even think of doing.
C. Vernon Crisler | 8.31.12 @ 8:25AM
Unfortunately we don't live in a pie-in-the-sky Paulista world. We have real enemies. It is in fact our troops who provide the thin camouflaged line that allows us to be capitalists and nitwit pacifists.
TLP| 8.31.12 @ 4:13PM
Let's ignore Douchebag , above me, for a minute, and remember that Bain was INVITED IN by these Companies, to SAVE THEM.
That Lying Ccksckr, who blamed Mitt Romney for Killing his Wife, is a Piece of Lying Sh*t, who can't Die, soon enough.
Bain kept his Steel Company alive FOR YEARS.
He was offered a Buyout, by Bain, and he said - FCK YOU, I want MORE MONEY, MORE BENIFITS, and A BIGGER PENSION, but I'm not gonna pay anything in to it.
A Company, like Bain, cannot keep a Company afloat, if the Ccksckr Union Assh*les aren't gonna move an inch.
Think - Pan Am.
Don't blame BAIN.
Blame this POS who Spit in the Face of someone who was TRYING TO SAVE HIS JOB, because he was an In The Pocket Of THE UNION BOSSES, and refused to listen to reason.
Think - Pan Am.
Think - Every Town, City, State, Municipality, and Country, that is looking at Financial Collapse, because of their Public Union Extortionists.
This isn't Brain Surgery, people.
It's MATH.
Stephie| 8.31.12 @ 10:34PM
And Paul Ryan knows the math. He will mop up the floor with Joe-foot-in-mouth-plugs-Biden in the debate. I can't wait to watch him make a fool of himself and obama. Their convention next week should be fun to watch too with the barrage of trash they trot out push their marxist agenda.
JD| 8.31.12 @ 2:16PM
"The problms are too vast and too complicated to be resolved with only a supply side solution. Massive and permanent cuts have to be made in government. "
Jack, you present those two sentences as alternatives to each other. They're not. A supply side policy necessarily includes the removal of anti-supply side actions by government. That includes most of government's present spending.
JD| 8.31.12 @ 2:16PM
"The problms are too vast and too complicated to be resolved with only a supply side solution. Massive and permanent cuts have to be made in government. "
Jack, you present those two sentences as alternatives to each other. They're not. A supply side policy necessarily includes the removal of anti-supply side actions by government. That includes most of government's present spending.
Von Mises Jr| 8.31.12 @ 7:50AM
The takeaway from this article is that the problems Bain fixed were mostly caused by government policies creating inflation, unions and poor management decisions that caused runaway costs, and crony capitalism that misallocated resources. We see it today in the Bernanke and Geithner money shell game and the LIBOR scandal. We see it in government pensions and benefits that somebody promised some people that were unrealistic if not absurd. And we see it in sweet heart deals institutionalized in Dodd-Frank, Buffet and Immelt, not to mention the GM bailout that is a $25B loss on paper plus another $50B in tax breaks.
These inefficiencies cause misallocation of resources and exactly why Hayek stressed in "Road to Serfdom" that central planning must not only fail, but government MUST pick the winners and losers. If Obama is re-elected, more Solyndra investors and GM unions will be the winners and we will be the losers.
C. Vernon Crisler | 8.31.12 @ 8:20AM
"A price of 'free' evokes unbounded demand while choking off supply."
Best single description of why capitalism is good and socialism is bad.
Pecos Pete| 8.31.12 @ 8:48AM
Exactly! Ditto.
TLP| 8.31.12 @ 9:08AM
He's right.
We cannot just"Grow" our way out of this Mess. We need to Cut.
I suggest we begin by taking a Meat Axe to the Number of Federal Employees.
The IRS - and all of their Shotguns - could just about be Eliminated with a Flat Tax. I believe that Russia has one and it seems to work rather well.
Democrats should be on board with that, seeing as how they CREAM about Everything that the Russians have ever done since 1917. Better Red than Dead - eh guys?
The EPA could be pared down to just a few people once they're taken off of their current Gestapo Assignment and put back to Checking Out Pollution Complaints and Cleaning Up Messes.
The Energy Department that has done NOTHING, in the way of ENERGY (other than Keeping us from having any these past 4 years) can be shown the door.
The Commerce Department can go, as we don't seem to ENGAGE IN COMMERCE, anymore.
The Education Department is an Oxymoron, full of Regular Morons, who's only Mission, it seems to me, is to get More Money for their Teachers Union Comrades, More Classes in Elementary Schools on The Joys of Anal Sex, The Joys of Normal Sex, Sex with an Animal, Sex with Fruits, Vegetables, Plastic Things that are shaped like those Fruits and Vegetables, Masturbation, and having Sex with your friend's Fathers and your Teacher.
Every Rep gets 2 Aides, and every Senator gets 6.
Air Force 1 is not for Date Nights, not for Flying In your Favourite Pizza Slice, and not for Going to the Mailbox.
The list is ENDLESS.
Stephie| 8.31.12 @ 10:38PM
His majesty flew AF-1 from Andrews to Charlottesville this past week. By car, that's about a 90 minute driv, if that. Marine 1 would have gotten him there lickety split, but no, he needs to fire up the big jet to fly that short distance. A flagrant waste of our tax dollars.
Derek Leaberry| 8.31.12 @ 9:23AM
One doesn't have to share Matt Taibbi's socialistic world view to shutter at what Bain did to make money as he has explained in Rolling Stone. Basically Bain would buy a company on the cheap with mostly borrowed money from the nefarious Wall Street bankers who brought us the 2008 meltdown, force the bought company into paying large debt payments to Bain on top of large management fees Bain would charge the bought company. Essentially, Bain plundered the companies it bought, legally, of course. Romney's America of Wall Street shakedown scammers is nearly as contemptible as Obama's.
George Romney of AMC made things. Mitt Romney manipulated companies and made nothing useful.
Nick| 8.31.12 @ 10:03AM
Karl Marx could not have said it better himself, Mr. Leaberry.
You forgot to mention the government pressure on banks from Bwawney Fwank and Chris Dodd to lend to those who couldn't afford a mortgage, that led to the '08 meltdown.
And President Bush's failure to stop Fwank & Dodd, as well as Fannie & Freddy.
It was government and crony capitalism that was at fault. But, you keep blaming "Wall Street bankers" for all your ills. If it makes you feel better?
Derek Leaberry| 8.31.12 @ 10:29AM
These Wall Street bankers are the same who bankrolled Obama in 2008 and so lovingly support Charles Schumer, Christopher Dodd and John Kerry. Wall Street, including the Wall Street Journal, are amongst the greatest enemies of conservatism and the greatest supporters of the ruling socialistic plutocracy. Count me a Main Street conservative and not a shill for the Wall Street scam artists.
Nick| 8.31.12 @ 10:47AM
I think Charles A. Beard had the same outlook.
President George Washington had his first inaugural on Wall Street, by the way.
Jack in Wi| 8.31.12 @ 11:26AM
Charles Beard was very against going into WW2. He believed it could have been avoided. He must have been a Nazi. You must be too for quoting him.
Nick| 8.31.12 @ 11:48AM
I didn't quote him, you illiterate, anti-Semitic moron.
Beard was a marxist, by the way, dope.
Have fun at the Klan rally, this weekend, Jackboot the Nazi.
Don't forget to teach the grandkids how to goose-step. Putz.
Purp| 8.31.12 @ 12:31PM
But you ARE supporting what you call MARXIST policies of Mitt Romney - you said it above. So now you believe in Marxism I guess.
CJW| 8.31.12 @ 3:34PM
Purpie/jack
You are truly the Village Idiot.
You actually believe DL's opinions are facts and that Nick agrees with it?
Purp| 8.31.12 @ 12:29PM
Au Contraire - It IS MITT ROMNEY who follows what you say are the the Marxist policies laid out by Mr. Leaberry. Apparently, you believe by voting for Mitty, you will get SOCIALISM TRIPLED.
Nick| 8.31.12 @ 12:40PM
Don't pretend you know what I'm talking about, Burp.
Hey, did you see that the Joseph Goebbels of our time, Michael Moore, has thrown the Foodstamp President under the bus, by saying, "I think people should start to practice the words ‘President Romney'"?
Ha-ha! Lefty losers.
Purp| 8.31.12 @ 2:04PM
Did you bother to read WHY he said that? You took it out of context, like all you righties do - your intimation is not factual and you are an idiot for doing so.
Nick| 8.31.12 @ 2:10PM
Yes, Burp.
Unlike you, I don't have to have what I read explained to me.
I did NOT take it out of context. Do you know what that expression means, Burp?
'Goebbels' Moore is throwing the Foodstamp President under the bus!
Because he is a loser.
Kingofthenet| 8.31.12 @ 10:46AM
Any 'Church' who's OWN Father can't watch his OWN Daughter get married(Sealed) unless he Converts is a CULT, and I don't vote for Cult Members
TLP| 8.31.12 @ 11:02AM
So, vote for The Muslim, who's Religion of Peace KILLS THEIR 7 YEAR OLD DAUGHTERS, if they Dishonour their Family by not Marrying the 75 Year Old Afghani Opium Farmer who traded 2 Goats and a Chicken for her.
They KILL their kids for Converting to Christianity. Kill their kids by putting them in the Car, with them. As they go to Carry Out a Suicide Bombing, because they know that the Check Point Guards are more apt to let them pass, if there's Kids in the Car? Kill their Kids by putting Bomb Belts on them.
Yeah.
You're a real bright guy.
Purp| 8.31.12 @ 12:27PM
The President is NOT a Muslim - but Willard is a Mormon...
CJW| 8.31.12 @ 3:35PM
Purpie/jack
What is wrong with being a Mormon, moron?
TLP| 8.31.12 @ 4:28PM
He IS a Muslim.
He was Born to a Muslim Father.
That makes him a Muslim.
He was raised in Indonesia's Muslim Schools, and Mosques, where he knelt on his very own Prayer Rug, facing Mecca, and prayed to his god of Murder, Blood, Rape and Slavery, 5 times a day.
He was Adopted by his Muslim Stepfather, in Indonesia. ( Can I PLEASE get an Immigration Expert to explain the Citizenship Ramifications of a young Child being Adopted by his Foreign National Stepfather, in a Foreign Country?)
He's as Muslim as Sh*ting in the middle of the Street, Stoning your Daughter to Death for not Marrying some 90 year old after he paid 2 Goats and a Chicken for her, and Strapping a Bomb Belt on your young Son, and then passing out Pastries, when he blows himself up.
Hey Purp.
GFYourself.
Who Knows?| 8.31.12 @ 11:03AM
Hey George, how’s Globalstar doing, these days?
Purp| 8.31.12 @ 11:31AM
Mitt Romney – a man whose own father built cars and nurtured communities, and was one of the old-school industrial anachronisms pushed aside by the new generation's wealth grab – has emerged now to sell this make-nothing, take-everything, screw-everyone ethos to the world. He's Gordon Gekko, but a new and improved version, with better PR – and a bigger goal. A takeover artist all his life, Romney is now trying to take over America itself. And if his own history is any guide, we'll all end up paying for the acquisition.
TLP| 8.31.12 @ 4:39PM
If he's Gordon Gecko?
Obama is The Joker.
America is about Equal Opportunity, not Equal Results.
I'm 55 Years Old, and I get up every morning at 5am. I get my wife off to work, get my kids up, feed them breakfast, make their lunches, get them off to school, go to WORK cutting lawns all day, and then come home and do all the Grocery Shopping, the dishes, the Laundry, and making Dinner.
I do it, because IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO!
And, even though I do all this, for very little money, I do not RESENT anyone who has made it big.
I aspire to, one day, make it Rich, as well.
That's the American Dream.
You want Rqual Results?
Go to Cuba, where everybody has NOTHING.
Again - GFYourself.
TinaB| 9.2.12 @ 9:47AM
Timmie, you are blessed, as is your wife and family, God just smiled on you as I read your post and mini-daily-life-synopsis. I knew there was something I recognized in you and your varied responses, short, super short, long, super long, funny, super funny, crude, super crude (but frequently oh so effective)
And there it was, my late hubby, who I love and miss more each day, worked much the same as you do. Blood, sweat and tears, working for God and family and towards the dream, and it kept him very focused and sane, also much like you. He was also funny as s--t, but you can put it down on paper, he rarely got a chance to. But when he/we did, he almost took down the Parks n Rec administration at a small Central FL city. Now you are helping with a slightly bigger problem.
Love you TLP, and carry on.
Mimi | 8.31.12 @ 12:13PM
What the Gop nominated last night was the leader who most likely more than and other American has the skills and know how and unique talent to tackle this Federal Budget shortfall and prime the pump of prosperity to benefit every last American. His wife Anne knew of this ABILITY and they both were well aware of the dangerous direction the Nation was going. They said they would not go through a presidential run again...but were called to serve...So far they have had a tough road....lets now get together and support with all we have financially and every other way with all our might!
It makes sense after reading this informative article ....why he choose Paul Ryan over so much talent. He will most likely assemble an army of the very best in this nation to accomplish this monumental task....All of the country will benefit!
WELL WE NEED TO SAVE THE COUNTRY AND THANKS TO GOD......HE'S SENT THE MAN TO DO THE JOB !!!
Purp| 8.31.12 @ 12:26PM
Why didn't he say a THING about the sacrifices made by our steadfast and strong TROOPS? He wants WAR with Iran and Syria, but said NOTHING about the Armed Forces that protect us all.
JD| 8.31.12 @ 2:18PM
Wow, Purp. Sacrificing whatever credibility you may have had left, eh? Your side has always been there to criticize "support the troops" language as empty pandering. You can't criticize the absence of "empty pandering" now.
Derek Leaberry| 8.31.12 @ 12:26PM
I hope you are right because I expect Romney will be elected. In my 32 years of following politics, years in which the Republicans have to limit government, call me skeptical. The party of small government hasn't cut government for 32 years and won't for 320 years if given the choice. Government will be cut only when the whole FDR-LBJ colossus collapses under the weight of 100 million baby boomers.
Purp| 8.31.12 @ 12:32PM
Another Anti-American hoping for the demise of America to save her... Puhlease, go peddle it in Europe to "Save Europe"
JD| 8.31.12 @ 2:20PM
America's demise has already happened. This new cancer must be broken up before America can be restored.
Derek Leaberry| 8.31.12 @ 2:32PM
Edit: .... politics, years in which the Republicans have YET to limit government, call....
Seek| 8.31.12 @ 3:19PM
You're a bit factually challenged. First, there were only 78 million baby boomers (born 1946-64) to begin with. Second, only about 60-65 million of them are still alive and living the U.S. These facts do matter.
Seek| 8.31.12 @ 3:17PM
A fascinating exploration into the evolution of the falling cost of information as the prime mover of a modern economy and why Mitt Romney understands this. Great reading.
vtwin| 8.31.12 @ 3:36PM
Breaking News: Federal Court Strikes Down Republican Ban on Early Voting in Ohio.
Sorry Romney, but there goes Ohio.
benny havens| 8.31.12 @ 4:27PM
Yeah, you are very happy about that decision aren’t you?
It’s idiots like you, and the party that you support, openly accept the votes of dead people, illegal nationals, voters who vote more than once and convicted felons. You people will do anything to get your scumbag politicians elected.
Well here is a little news for you Einstein. When the collapse happens you will not be immune.
Nick| 8.31.12 @ 5:36PM
No, vtwit, that should be:
Federal Court Helps O'Bama Regime Stop Military
Members From Having 3 Extra Days To Vote.
(If your "news" is true, that is. I'm not wasting any time to check.)
RJ| 8.31.12 @ 5:08PM
Interesting story on Bain, but if Romney is a supply-sider, he certainly hasn't campaigned as one nor does his political record indicate that he is committed to limited government.
I do believe that his executive skills are better than any President since Eisenhower, so we could see improvement in making the Executive Branch more effective and efficient and his selection of Paul Ryan is encouraging in terms of what Romney's future budgets could look like.
Carroll | 8.31.12 @ 11:31PM
At the time, supply-side was that hot. But every speech and book that I produced from then on bore the imprint of my conversations with people at Bain.
PHILLIPBERNAL| 9.1.12 @ 8:47PM
As has been said by the eminent commenters above, it is the meddling gov't that causes the economy to go in the dumper. Regards Mitt Romney, if he is such a genius, why did he sign Romneycare into law? It does not matter what the numbers said on paper. He knew that any big gov't program, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, was a recipe for disaster, but yet, he still went ahead with it. I am not a politician like Romney with a core like the StayPuft marshmellow man. I evaluate a politician by his actions. Romney, Obama, whatever.
Carroll | 9.2.12 @ 10:39PM
I learned more from them than from any other audience or, if truth be told, from my four years of Harvard, which included little economics beyond disgruntled attendance at a lecture by Galbraith reading out loud word-for-word from his bestselling book.
Mickle | 9.2.12 @ 10:42PM
At the time, supply-side was that hot. But every speech and book that I produced from then on bore the imprint of my conversations with people at Bain.
Ron Ackenberry| 9.3.12 @ 4:31AM
So, you are saying if we just give them all the money vast riches will trickle down to us some day.
Thanks.
It does sound a bit familiar, however.
TheLastWordSword | 9.5.12 @ 6:35PM
Generalized as the “experience curve,” it held that—largely because of on-the-job learning, (BY WAGE EARNERS) broadly considered—the costs incurred in producing any good or service decline... . Growing... improvements in every facet of the company, every manufacturing process, every detail of design, marketing, and (LAST AND LEAST) management.Crucially, the curve even extended to customers, (WHAT A SURPRISE!) who learned how to use the product and multiplied applications for it as it dropped in price. Private equity investment firms, such as Bain Capital under Romney, work on all these levels to achieve capital gains. (Not by gutting the company of hard-nosed emplyees they don't.)
The experience curve describes efficiency increasing with experience and scale in the provision of any product... . On the other hand, by raising prices—or taxes (or stock options, or dividends, cutting wages)—you slow down all this learning and experience, increasing average costs across a business and an economy, depleting asset values, exacerbating liabilities, and lowering both private profits and public revenues.
Grow up George, the candy store is closing, and you'll just get a tummy-ache anyway. When you become a conservative voice for younger adults rather than the spoiled-drooling-stupid Boomer children, you'll be ready for the future behind those bright headlights you're caught in.
Carl Peter Klapper | 9.14.12 @ 7:41PM
A correction, Mr. Gilder: inflation increases the nominal prices of real assets; it increases the value of assets, not reduces them as you claim. You are confusing assets with obligations, such as debt, wage and other payment agreements; these go down in real value as the value of the money they are denominated in goes down.