Democrats don't fully appreciate how Governor Romney's experience in private equity qualifies him to address our fiscal woes. The Governor is expert at divesting enterprises of divisions that are damaging the bottom line and unloading such divisions at premium prices. Romney can do the same for the U.S.
How would Romney apply the Bain approach to the fiscal woes of the U.S.? He would start by divesting us of the states of the Confederacy. These states collectively absorb far more resources than they contribute in tax dollars. Only Texas and North Carolina contribute more than they take, and we could allow them to apply to rejoin the Union.
It was an historic blunder not to have bid those states a fond farewell, but it is never too late to fix a mistake. Allowing the south to secede is also consistent with Romney's commitment to States Rights. There is nothing in the constitution forbidding secession. We should belatedly agree to their secession. Of course they would still owe their share of the national debt. Romney's accountant could surely find a way to make that work.
Puerto Rico is another net drain on our bottom line. We would unilaterally declare Puerto Rico’s independence. The U.S. has no business being a colonial power, especially if the business is losing money. Of course there will be who will want to maintain the last remnants of our empire. Romney's global experience will steel him against appeals by latter day imperialists.
The last piece of restructuring is a bit more ambitious. It relies on Romney's expertise in buying and selling assets. We bought Alaska, we can sell it. A business can't fall in love with its assets. Alaska not only takes in more in federal dollars than it pays in taxes, but would fetch an excellent price if put up for sale. Countries like China and Russia that truly believe in "drill baby drill", and who don't have to put up with interfering environmentalists, would pay top dollar for the North Slope. We would retain a royalty interest in the increased oil that would be produced once the acquirers eliminated regulations that hampered production.
Unfortunately these bold measures will not take place unless we can properly motivate Congress and the Supreme Court to support Romney's leadership. Paying success fees has been critical to the ability of private equity firms to motivate their employees and overcome any moral qualms they might feel about the deals they were involved in. Bain was successful because it paid itself 30% of profits in its deals, while its competitors were only getting a measly 20% (of course these fees were on top of their management fees and other fees). We would pay $1 billion to each member of Congress and the Supreme Court who supports the Romney program. These payments would enable Congress and the Court to surmount any misgivings they may have about divestiture.
I realize that some people may think that this program is insensitive to the feelings of people in the South, Puerto Rico and Alaska who may want to stay in the U.S. This is no time for sentimentality. We face tough economic times and need to cut the fat. When Romney was running Bain, he didn't keep unprofitable divisions going just because employees liked working there, or because the divisions had been part of the firm for many years. He cut them. Applying the same discipline to the U.S.A. will restore us to financial health.
Fascinating article! Totally agree- the absolute best way to deal with ALL problems is by simply looking at the economic bottom line and ensuring that messy/silly things like emotions, attachments, so called 'human suffering' don't pollute the act.
~MG
Posted by: Malcahtweets | 10/04/2012 at 02:11 AM