The last time I wrote about Mitt Romney, I reported that his religious beliefs were curious but mostly harmless, and ultimately of little concern.
This remains true. However, I also noted that “the former governor of Massachusetts and current Republican candidate for President in 2012 is a charlatan and a swindler.” Now that he has achieved so much success campaigning for president, I think it’s important to talk about how he’s earned those distinctions.
Romney has amassed an enormous fortune in the private sector; by his own estimation at least $200 million, with others speculating that it could be as high as $260 million. For some reason, a number of uninformed voters equate his vast wealth with his grasp of how the entire U.S. economy operates. As best I can tell, the argument appears to be “How could he have made so much money without understanding how the business sector works?”
As evidenced by his career with Bain Capital, the private equity company which Romney co-founded and obtained most of his wealth while working for, Romney does know a lot about the economy – but only enough to exploit it for its own game.
