Most of the evaluation we have seen of Bain Capital has been in its vulture capitalist roll as a corporate raider. However, Bain had other roles too, and one of those roles was to serve as a consultant for other companies. This can prove very useful for companies that need an “opinion” predetermined to fit what the company wants to hear to provide them cover. Here is a case in which Bain’s advice matched the character of it’s founder with catastrophic effects.
A Book Review by Greg Palast, for FireDogLake.com
on Poisoned Legacy: the Human Cost of BP’s Rise to Power (St. Martin’s Press) by Mike Magner.
Here’s my bead on Magner’s book….
I almost fell off the barstool when I read that it was Bain Capital (Mitt Romney, former CEO), that told oil giant BP it was a good idea to cut costs. The cuts would lead to death, mayhem and the destruction of the Gulf Coast (not to mention BP’s poisoning of Alaska, Africa, Central Asia and Colombia).
In 2007, after BP’s criminal negligence and penny-pinching led to the explosion at the BP oil refinery on the Gulf Coast, in Texas City, Texas, the company brought in industry pooh-bah James Baker, their lawyer and former Secretary of State, to write a report. Baker is Big Oil’s BFF, but in this case, he was horrified, and told BP to get its act together and spend some real money on operating safety.
BP didn’t like Baker’s recommendation nor did it like another report by its own consulting firm, Booz Allen Hamilton which advised the company to …get its act together and spend money on safety.
When two respected industry voices agree that you’d better start spending and thinking while you’re operating in a deadly business, a corporation’s CEO has only one choice: find a consulting house of ill repute to contradict the others and tell you what you want to hear.
That’s what BP’s CEO Tony Hayward did. In 2008, he hired Bain Capital to say the company would be better managed if it spent less money. Bain used consulting BS terms like reducing "complexity," but it all meant the same thing: cut, cut, cut.
After all, Bain’s motto is, "We like to fire people." The oil company then fired 5,000 employees in response to the Bain report.
To hell with safety… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <Greg Palast>
Now, integrity demands that I reveal that this occurred after Romney went on leave of absence from Bain Capital. However, as founder, he set the ethical standard that the company followed, and it did not change in his absence. In addition, Romney has claimed credit for creating jobs at Bain. The vast majority of the jobs he claims occurred after after his leave of absence. To quote a prominent misanthrope, “What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.” If he claims responsibility for the successes after his time, he must take responsibility for the failures too.
In short, had BP been unable to find a company as disreputable as Mitt Romney’s firm and had followed the reputable advice they had received to spend money on safety, Deepwater Horizon would probably not have happened.
If elected, Romney will do for America what Bain did for the Gulf of Mexico.
19 Responses to “Bain: Anything for a Buck!”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
This is new to me- appalling ! However certainly in character for Bain– and for Romney
Same here, Phyllis. I was surprised.
Why would he brag about creating jobs at Bain? That’s like saying he created a larger destructive tornado. What a stupid man. Bain is and was in the business of destroying jobs. I hope everyone at Bain loses their jobs. Now that would be good for America.
After he was gone, Staples expanded, creating a lot of jobs. He was taking credit for those jobs.
“A Book Review by Greg Palast, for FireDogLake.com”
As a member of FireDogLake this is distressing… sigh
Richard, why would being an FDL member make it more distressing?
Millions of ignorant knuckle-draggers will cast a vote for Willard, because they hate everybody. Their hope is that Willard hates most of the same people that they hate.
Willard will hate whoever it takes to get in.
I heard today that he and Obama both have 43% of the potential vote. Scary stuff.
Don’t worry about polls until after the debates start. That’s when the vast majority start paying attention, if then.
WOW!!!!! I didn’t know about this. This is the kind of thing that has to get ‘out there’. Rmoney was touting his business experience as a reason to elect him, and Mr Obama had none according to Rmoney which of course is not true. This is just one more example of his lying and lack of ethics. I guess it is true “Be careful what you wish for (claim). You might get more than you bargained for.” Perhaps the clean up bill etc should be sent to Bain and Rmoney.
Vote Democrat 2012!!!!! Vote Obama/Biden 2012!!!!!
Lynn I agree. It’s disappointing that I haven’t heard a whisper of this on the MSM.
Thanks Nameless. Of course. That’s what vulture capitalism is all about.
Rmoney “set the ethical standard that the company followed.” Is this the kind of ethical standard we want for our President to have? I think not!
But it is the ethical standard that the 1% want.
Don’t know why it just came to me, but when I read the article title again, I thought “More Bain for a buck!” I sure hope not.
Ain’t that the truth!
Test