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Mitt Romney, Man Without A Conscience

AMPAD - July 1992
With American Pad & Paper (Ampad), Mitt Romney and his partners took a small but successful paper products business and merged it with other companies in the industry, piling up debt as they went. Ultimately, the company was unable to keep up with the interest payments on its debt and was forced into bankruptcy, but not before Romney and his partners were able to squeeze out more than $100 million for themselves.

GST Steel - 1993
Bankruptcy and bailouts
Kansas City’s GST Steel was a successful company that had been making steel rods for 105 years when Mitt Romney and his partners took control in 1993. They cut corners and extracted profit from the business at every turn, placing it deeply in debt. When the company eventually declared bankruptcy, workers were denied their full pensions and health insurance, and the federal government was forced to step in and bail out the pension fund.

Dade - 1994 
Profiting from debt
With Dade Behring, Mitt Romney and his investors took over a healthy company and loaded it with debt. Rather than sell the company, they then had Dade take out even more loans to buy out their shares, driving the company into bankruptcy. Nearly 3,000 workers lost their jobs, while Romney and his partners made more than $250 million in profit.

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DNC chairwoman: Trump, Romney ‘both like firing people’

2/02/12 12:56 PM ET By Justin Sink -TheHill

Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.) said the expected endorsement of Republican front-runner Mitt Romney by reality show host Donald Trump was “a non-news event” and mocked both for making millions “firing people” during an interview Thursday morning.

“It really wouldn’t be surprising if Donald Trump supports Mitt Romney, because they both like firing people and they’ve both made millions doing it,” Wasserman Schultz said on MSNBC. “Donald Trump is such a cartoon character, an endorsement no matter who he chooses is like Bugs Bunny making an endorsement.”

A source close to Romney’s campaign told The Hill Thursday that Trump will endorse the former Massachusetts governor at the casino he owns in Las Vegas.

The confirmation capped a dizzying day with early reports from The New York Times and The Associated Press saying Newt Gingrich’s campaign expected the endorsement to come their way and other reports suggesting Trump would back Romney.

Wasserman Schultz also knocked Romney for comments he made Wednesday in which he said that he was “ not concerned about the very poor” because they have a safety net. Romney went on to say he was focusing his efforts on the middle class, and insisted the “not concerned” line was being taken out of context.

“Mitt Romney has consistently demonstrated — and this is one more glimpse into the window of his mind — that he has no concern for people who are struggling, and that includes the middle class,” Wasserman Schultz said. “He has absolutely no proposals that would help make sure that we could create jobs and he supports continuing the loopholes that he benefits from in the tax code.”

The DNC also released a Web ad Wednesday critical of Romney’s economic plan, claiming it would do little to help middle-class families struggling with the economy.

For more: http://thehill.com/video/campaign/208263-wasserman-schultz-trumps-support-is-like-bugs-bunny-making-an-endorsement

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Meg Whitman a mixed blessing for Mitt Romney

May 30, 2012 02:13 PM EDT By: Michelle Quinn – dyn.politico

SAN FRANCISCO — A day after Mitt Romney aligned himself with the toxic Donald Trump in Las Vegas, the presidential hopeful is campaigning in California today — with a CEO (Meg Whitman, HP’s CEO) who just announced plans to lay off 27,000 people.

Meg Whitman, the CEO of Hewlett-Packard, is a longtime friend and political ally of Romney, whose ties to her date back to their time at Bain Capital.

Whitman organized Romney’s fundraising swing Wednesday through Silicon Valley, where he’s hoping to siphon off some of the cash that flowed to President Barack Obama in 2008.

Though Whitman is a big name in the Valley, her recent announcement that her company is planning mass layoffs is an uncomfortable association for Romney — who is dodging the job-killer rap from the Obama camp.

Romney’s critics have pounced on his relationship with Whitman as an example that the former Massachusetts governor’s approach to job creation is at odds with what they say the country needs.

Wade Randlett, a Democratic fundraiser and Silicon Valley tech investor, said that when Romney holds up Whitman, he is saying “here is someone who … worked for me, who is enjoying the process of firing people and thinks that that is the road back to recovery for her company.”

For more: http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=F10A965D-28AC-4684-B931-7934884B8F29

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VOTE OBAMA/BIDEN IN 2012

Congress’s To-Do List

Amy Brundage May 10, 2012 07:05 PM EDT

Earlier this week the President visited the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering’s NanoTech Complex in Albany, New York where he called on Congress to act on a “To-Do List” that’ll create jobs and help restore middle class security. I’m sure you’ve seen the To-Do List by now. It’s about the size of a post-it note, and outlines five common-sense initiatives that’ll grow our economy and make a real difference for millions of families across the nation.

In Albany the President emphasized the importance of rewarding companies who bring jobs back to America. Tomorrow, he’s heading to Reno, NV where he’ll discuss the second item on the To-Do List: cutting the red tape to allow hardworking homeowners to refinance and take advantage of today’s lower rates.

The To-Do List is simple:

1. Reward companies who bring jobs back to the U.S. with lower taxes and pay for it by eliminating tax incentives for companies to ship jobs overseas.

2. Cut red tape so hardworking, responsible homeowners who are paying their mortgage can refinance at today’s lower rates.

3. Help hardworking small business owners create jobs by giving them a tax credit for new hires.

4. Invest in American clean energy manufacturers who create American jobs through innovation of new technologies and new fuels that reduce our reliance on foreign oil and lead to more secure energy sources.

5. Ensure our commitment to our veterans is as strong as they are by creating a Veterans Job Corps that helps hire veterans as cops, firefighters, and serving their communities.

Over the past few days, we’ve seen some movement from members of Congress on Capitol Hill. They’re taking action. Senator Jeff Merkley introduced the Rebuilding Equity Act, a bill that gives folks the opportunity to take advantage of today’s lower rates and the savings from refinancing to build back equity in their homes. Senator Feinstein introduced a bill yesterday, and today Senators Robert Menendez and Barbara Boxer introduced legislation to help millions of responsible homeowners take advantage of today’s lower rates, saving an average of $3,000 per homeowner. These are reforms that the Members of the House have called for, including Leader Pelosi, Barney Frank, Luis Gutierrez, Maxine Waters, and we hope that the Congress can send a responsible package to the President’s desk.

We’re pleased Congress is taking up these housing measures. Now it’s time for Republicans to get on board. There’s no excuse for inaction. Congress needs to work together and start checking these items off the list. It’s the right thing to do. The President knows it, and the American people do to. It’s time for Congress to get to work.

Contact your Congress person to TELL THEM TO START WORKING WITH PRESIDENT OBAMA!!

U.S. Senators
U.S. Representatives
Tweet a Message to Your Representatives

“America’s young people face record unemployment, and we need to do everything we can to make sure they’ve got the opportunity to earn the skills and a work ethic that come with a job. It’s important for their future, and for America’s. That’s why I proposed a summer jobs program for youth in the American Jobs Act — a plan that Congress failed to pass. America’s youth can’t wait for Congress to act. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment. That’s why today, we’re launching Summer Jobs+, a joint initiative that challenges business leaders and communities to join my Administration in providing hundreds of thousands of summer jobs for America’s youth”

President Barack Obama

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Summer Jobs 2012

Businesses, Non-Profits and Governments
Businesses can accept the President’s call-to-action and make a “Pathways Pledge” by choosing at least one of the following three pathways to employment for low-income youth:

*Life Skills: Provide youth work-related soft skills, such as communication, time management and teamwork, through coursework and/or experience. This includes resume writing or interview workshops and mentorship programs.

* Work Skills: Provide youth insight into the world of work to prepare for employment. This includes job shadow days and internships.

* Learn and Earn: Provide youth on-the-job skills in a learning environment while earning wages for their work.

For more information: http://www.dol.gov/summerjobs/

President Barack Obama’s will visit the Boca Raton campus of Florida Atlantic University on the afternoon of Tuesday, April 10, to deliver an economic address regarding the Buffett Rule.

In 2009, 1,470 people who made more than $1 million paid $0 in federal income tax. That means that while millions of middle class families paid their fair share in taxes that year—money that went to funding things like education, our military, and health care for seniors—a  small group of high-income Americans paid nothing at all. Want to know how your tax dollars are spent? Check out your 2011 Federal Taxpayer Receipt.

President Obama believes in building an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules. That’s why he proposed the Buffett Rule. The Buffett Rule is simple: if you make more than $1 million a year, you should pay at least the same percentage of your income in taxes as middle class families do.

Have a question about the Buffett Rule? Want to know more where your tax dollars are spent? Join us on Wednesday, April 11^th at 3:00 p.m. EDT, for a session of Office Hours on Twitter with Brian Deese, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council. Ask your question now using the hashtag #WHChat.

Here’s how White House Office Hours work:

• Ask your questions now and during the live event on Twitter with the hashtag#WHChat
• Follow the Q&A through the @WHLive Twitter account
• If you miss the live session, the full session will be posted onWhiteHouse.gov and Storify.com/WhiteHouse

So, stop by for Office Hours at 3:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 11th with Brian Deese.