Saturday, August 25, 2012

I'm not a big enough @$$#ole to be rich


I long ago came to the conclusion that the secret to real wealth as to be a giant @$$#ole.  And, that I was never going to be rich because I wasn't willing to do the dirty deeds that would get me there.

Now, as we learn more about Mitt Romney, I'm discovering that I was right.

For instance, we know by now that Romney became staggering wealthy through Bain Capital, which bought up American companies and made its big bucks by shutting them down, moving the jobs overseas, and leaving American workers with nothing.

But, I didn't know he got started by financing Bain Capital with the blood money from the rich Salvadoran families that ran the death squads in that country back in the glory days of Ronald Reagan.

Romney’s Blood Money by SANDY SMITH-NONINI

Both the Los Angeles Times and Huffington Post published investigations in the last month showing that over a third of the $37 million raised by Romney to launch Bain Capital in the mid-1980s came from rich Latin Americans, the bulk of it from Salvadoran families linked to death squads. An off-shore tax haven in Panama provided Bain with the secrecy needed to attract the approximately $6.5 million from the Salvadoran families in what many human rights experts would call “blood money.”
If that's how you get wealthy, then I can see why I'm dirt poor these days. I've got a conscience. I could never dream of approaching the backers of death squads to get the money to start a company that would then proceed to throw Americans out of their jobs to make money.

I guess if I thought that way, then I could be President of the United States.  But I prefer not to have blood dripping from my hands and the misery I've caused other people on my head.

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7 comments:

The National Crackpot said...

Oh boo hoo. I can't find a way to make money so I have to spend my time trying desperately finding fault with others who do even if I have to pretend Romney had anything to do with death squads. That's intellectual laziness. Of course, laziness in another way not to make money so lets tear down the successful people. That's what liberals do. That's what they will always do. Unless of course you're a Kennedy or John Kerry then it's fine to be rich because you didn't actually work for the money, you got it by being born liberal. PS-If that's harsh you say "don't be obscene or name calling but you call Romney an asshole so don't bitch.

Rickd said...

The Crackpot is aptly named I think.

Such crocodile tears ignores the fact that how one has become wealthy matters, especially when one is running for the highest office in the land.

Romney's wealth came on the backs of working class families whose jobs and dreams were crushed by Bain Capital.

Despite the statements as to the number of jobs "created" by that piratical firm the fact remains that they were in business to make money for their already wealthy membership, one that required a minimum investment of one million dollars to join.

Occasionally, upon purchasing a company, if it was found to be profitable to keep the place open, Bain did so. But far, far more often the assets were sold off and the jobs offshored. Under no definition were jobs created, the propaganda about "creation" actually refers to jobs saved and was the minority result of acquisition by Bain.

When one is asking to be chosen to lead a nation that request is not without cost. Romney has refused to tell the truth about his tenure with Bain, insisting that he left prior to several business deals that cost this nations working families their security and future prosperity.

The issue, Mr. Crackpot, is one of honesty and not, as you so ridiculously put it, one of jealousy regarding Romney's wealth.

One last point if you will. Romney, when running against Ted Kennedy in the race for Governor of Mass. so very long ago, berated his opponent for not releasing his tax records. He did so loudly and continually in fact. Now that Mitt is asking for our votes for an even higher office he declines to do what he insisted was necessary then.

Can you, Mr. Crackpot, spell hypocrite?

The National Crackpot said...

...and Obama closed down Pontiac, Hummer and Saturn to "save" GM. To quote you, "under no definition were jobs created". The CEO of General Electric runs a co. that makes billions of dollars,pays no taxes at all and contributes millions to Obama's campaign but rich people are evil unless they give some to O. Believe it or not I am not a Romney supporter, it just makes me ill to listen to people like you pick on BS like that when ALL of them are the same. Your guy Obama is as big a crook as anyone who as ever run for office and that includes Romney, so who's the hypocrite? Someone who sees them both for what they are, or you libs who pretend Obama is the messiah rather than a little sleazy self serving narcissist like the rest of them. The difference is that liberal policies are ineffective.

Rickd said...

Your anger makes your contributions useless. In your first post you rail against those who critique Romney for the way he made his money,for the way he avoids his fair share of taxes, not the fact that he has it.

You posted nonsense and I tried to give you a coherent and factual critique of your position. So your second post shows that you either failed to think about the points I raised or, sorry to note, are incapable of doing so because you operate from a position of high dudgeon.

Nowhere did I state a preference for either candidate, but you are so fixated on divisiveness and attempting to prove you are oh so smart when you are just oh so angry that coherency or debate are beyond you.

This is a Green Party website, Crackpot, where do you think the loyal Obama supporters are here? in your own silly mind that's where.

The National Crackpot said...

Very well. Let's examine your "factual critique" in a calm way. "Romney's wealth came on the backs of working class families whose jobs and dreams were crushed by Bain Capital." Can you honestly say that you feel ANY capitalist got their money fair and square in your view? Can you honestly say that someone who was involved in a company that provides capital to other companies such as an office supply company we have all heard of is "crushing dreams". Again, that's just intellectual laziness. I have a job. It's working class. The CEO is rich. He is not crushing my dreams. He uses capital to put money back in the company and as a result I have a job in a bad economy. Romney has released his taxes. If you don't think the millions he paid were his "fair share" then your just another redistributionist who isn't worth the time, but let's suppose you're not. You also talk about my anger. Is the Green Party not angry? I think they are. If you are not angry why do you think rich people are assholes? Given our differences in politics I am nevertheless surprised that you are not angry. I think any sensible person would be. Surely the Democrats are. They are ALWAYS angry. Surely the Rupublicans are, at least right now. The economy is in the tank and a rich guy signs my paycheck. You think he should give it all away so the government can build bridges to nowhere and build military craft that the army doesn't want and study the sex life of tsetse flies? No?? That's what they do with most of it. People would proud to pay taxes if they didn't waste so much of it but they do. Why would any rich person want to do that? Whey not just flush it down the toilet?

Rickd said...

You debate without regard to either fact or the previous statements of your fellow debater. Some, less polite than I, might conclude you are a self centered egoist.

First, Bain capital created NO JOBS. They created vast profits for those with the wherewithall to afford the one million dollar buy in necessary to become an investor there.

When it was more profitable to rebuild a company, in only a very few cases, they did so, no jobs were created, as they already existed. Far more often the company was stripped of assets, sold at a profit and the production moved offshore. That COST jobs, again and again in fact. The profits of Bain were enormous, as was the toll on American working families. That is the truth not your fairy tale narrative.

In your extreme right wing absurdities you forget that our government builds roads, schools and puts people to work. I believe it was a Republican from Alaska who built that "bridge to nowhere".

Your GOP is run by extremists like the Koch Brothers and their wholly owned Tea Party. The Democrats are ,unfortunately, not angry enough.

I will allow you the last word as talking to a clown like you is simply a waste of time. You are , in a nutshell, an encapsulation of everything that is wrong with this nation. You lie, distort and refuse to listen to anything but the voices in your head. So sad for Democracy.

Samson said...

Comments left up as they are illustrative of the total nonsense that seems to fill Americans' minds when election time comes along.

The common feature of both our America's corrupt political parties is that neither feels that anyone besides them has any basic rights to organize or speak. They both send people out to disrupt any sites that might have a different point of view.

Its not a new tactic. It existed before 'online' came along in the form of people going to a meeting and disrupting and breaking it up by shouting and yelling and starting fights. Same techniques from the internet era on display here.

The interesting thing is that you can not use words like "freedom" or "democracy" to describe a system where people go out to deliberately try to keep others from organizing politically.

Although, in this case, those words are even used any more. Now its just the blatant argument of the rich and powerful that they have the ability to do anything they want to do and no one can stop them.

Thus the apparent outrage that someone might not think it a proper thing to do to use blood money who came from people who used death squads to get rich to start a company that helped to destroy the American economy by sending the jobs of American workers overseas in order that a small group of '@$$#013$" can get even richer from that.

I'm sure the central Americans who invested their blood money into Bain Capital got nice paybacks from that. So, the money that was originally made by using terror, torture and death to enforce an oppressive economic system in central America comes home to the USA in the form of a company that destroys our economy and sends jobs overseas, and the end result is the '@$$#013$' got even richer ... and some Americans lost their homes and their livelihoods.

Notice, nothing in the above is pro-Obama. I cracked up laughing when he brought up the tax codes that allow deductions for sending jobs overseas, because Obama has none nothing to change that while President for four years. Not even when he had Democratic control of both houses of Congress and the momentum of a landslide election victory. Even then Obama would not propose what would have been a very popular bill to close those loopholes that effectively shifts tax burden away from the '@$$#013$' who get rich by sending the jobs of Americans overseas onto the backs of the fewer and fewer Americans who can still find decent jobs.

Obama isn't really any better than Romney. I'd say he doesn't have the blood from the central American blood money on his hands like Romney, but Obama has plenty of other blood on his hands from all the killing he's done, so who would notice the difference.

Although, I suppose the striking thing is that Romney manages to run for office with blood on his hands before he even becomes President. That seems unique, at least until Mafia family heads decide to run for office directly instead of just buying and intimidating politicians indirectly to get what they want. Then again, after the Bush family, maybe having blood on your hands before you even reach the Oval Office isn't that unusual anymore either in modern America