Bain Closes U.S. Plant,

[delta22]

Throughout this presidential election cycle, we've heard attacks on the business practices of Bain Capital, the private equity firm co-founded by Mitt Romney in 1984. Most recently, a political action committee that supports the re-election of President Obama released an ad featuring Joe Soptic, a former steelworker who lost his job, and hence health insurance for himself and his family, after the closing of the Bain-owned plant where he worked. Soptic's wife subsequently died of cancer; in the ad, he blames Bain and Romney for the fact that she didn't get care in time to detect and treat her disease.

"I don't know how long she was sick," Soptic says, "and I think maybe she didn't say anything because she knew that we couldn't afford the insurance."

The ad's veracity has been questioned (and defended), but evidence of Bain's deleterious impact on workers continues to surface.

In the most recent news in that vein, The Guardian reports that Bain has for months been dismantling and shipping to China, "piece by piece," a car parts plant, of which it is majority owner, in Freeport, Ill. -- even as it requires the workers to train personally their Chinese replacements, who have been flown in by management.

"It's not easy to get up in the morning, training them to do your job so that you can be made unemployed," Bonnie Borman told the paper. Borman, 52, has worked at the Sensata auto sensors plant for 23 years. She has three children and predicts that soon, "I am going to be competing for minimum wage jobs with my own daughter."

Although Romney left Bain around the turn of the century -- pinpointing the exact year is difficult, which has itself become a source of controversy -- he maintains financial ties to the company, receiving millions of dollars annually in profits from buyout and investment funds. Which means that Romney stands to gain if Bain's plan to cut costs at Sensata by eliminating U.S. jobs succeeds in increasing profitability.

Needless to say, such an arrangement strikes the company's current employees as deeply unjust. "I understand business needs to make a profit," Tom Gualrapp told The Guardian. "But this product has always made a ton of money. it's just that they think it is not enough money. They are greedy." Gaulrapp, 54, is a 33 year veteran of the plant, and says that homelessness "is a real possibility" in his near future.

Bain has already quadrupled its initial 2006 investment in Sensata, The Guardian says. The closing of the Freeport plant will cost the city 170 well-paying jobs, further damaging an already enfeebled economy. The process of transferring the machinery to China will be complete by the end of the year.

Still, the workers are keeping up the fight to save their livelihoods. Having already hand-delivered a letter asking for Romney's support to campaign headquarters in Madison, Wis., they're now planning to protest at the Republican National Convention, to be held in Tampa, Fla., at the end of the month.

Attacks on Bain Capital have been controversial: Democrats including Newark Mayor Corey Booker, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, and former President Bill Clinton have expressed their discomfort with the way the Obama campaign has impugned the morality of the private equity business.

But the critiques are starting to gather momentum as the human toll of Bain's business practices becomes increasingly obvious: Writing about the deal that left Joe Soptic embittered and bereft, Bloomberg's William D. Cohan (no socialist; a former investment banker, in fact) asks, "Is there any fairness in a system where a group of people can borrow a bunch of money to buy a company and pay themselves millions of dollars in dividends and fees, while the company itself ends up bankrupt and its employees lose their jobs, health insurance and pensions?"

[rightsonword]

Another reason not to trust Willard. Claims to be against abortion, but profits from it. Claims to be against outsourcing, but did it in the Olympics, possibly outsourced jobs while at Bain and now stands to profit from it.

[yota691]

Another reason not to trust Willard. Claims to be against abortion, but profits from it. Claims to be against outsourcing, but did it in the Olympics, possibly outsourced jobs while at Bain and now stands to profit from it.

And the Bail out GM in which most production is overseas or in Mexico!! Oh and they claim they paid the Taxpayers Back. Oh by the way I get up everyday to make a Profit, I guess your against that!!

[rightsonword]

And the Bail out GM in which most production is overseas or in Mexico!! Oh and they claim they paid the Taxpayers Back. Oh by the way I get up everyday to make a Profit, I guess your against that!!

Which Willard supported and Ryan voted for.

I like making profits and there is nothing wrong with it for the most part. But sorry, making profits off of aborted babies and then claiming to be pro-life is horrible and hypocritial. And when Romney talks against outsourcing jobs and attacks Obama for it, but then goes and profits from it, then yeah, something is wrong with that, imo.

[Maggie123]

The workers are planning a protest at the Republican National Convention.

I wonder if they will get arrested.

[desimo]

I am tired of talking points. People want to make 'Bain' an issue. US regulations have been driving MORE businesses out of the US than have created. Stop trying to make an issue of Bain. Before you want to make this an issue explain why our present president is so sterilized. You want Romney's tax returns, I would love to see our presidents college records, interviews with people he knew as a child, school records, explanations on why he has the Social Security number of a dead man. No one is as sterilized as this president unless they have been created as sterilized. The only reason you create someone this sterilized with no history unless they want to hide things.

[krome2ez]

Wow Delta. Did ya go over to the Obama camp or what?

[delta22]

Krome hey brother H ELL NO I WON'T GO!!!! I merely found the chinese connection nefarious !

[krome2ez]

I am tired of talking points. People want to make 'Bain' an issue. US regulations have been driving MORE businesses out of the US than have created. Stop trying to make an issue of Bain. Before you want to make this an issue explain why our present president is so sterilized. You want Romney's tax returns, I would love to see our presidents college records, interviews with people he knew as a child, school records, explanations on why he has the Social Security number of a dead man. No one is as sterilized as this president unless they have been created as sterilized. The only reason you create someone this sterilized with no history unless they want to hide things.

Absolutely correct, sir.

The media has intentionally let Obama pass with ZERO vetting.

No hard questions are asked by the main stream media of "Who is Barack Obama?"

[delta22]

Krome hey brother H ELL NO I WON'T GO!!!! I merely found the chinese connection nefarious !

[krome2ez]

Krome hey brother H ELL NO I WON'T GO!!!! I merely found the chinese connection nefarious !

Whew! You had me worried for a minute there.

[wedanie]

So does IBM. They ship off thousands of jobs to India and not a word about it in the press.

[dinar_stud]

So does IBM. They ship off thousands of jobs to India and not a word about it in the press.

IBM is not running for president.

[cris]

Obama Outsourcing

The Obama administration has continued to make billions of taxpayer dollars available to the General Electric Corporation, mostly through loans but there were some grants for green energy projects.

G.E. employs about 300,000 people. Fewer than half, 131,000 are working in the USA. Let me repeat. Less than half of G.E.'s workforce are employed in America. G.E. has 277 plants in 43 countries and keeps overseas profits overseas. Thereby avoiding U.S. income tax. In fact, General Electric paid zero federal income tax in 2010 according to the "New York Times."

[Maggie123]

Obama Outsourcing

The Obama administration has continued to make billions of taxpayer dollars available to the General Electric Corporation, mostly through loans but there were some grants for green energy projects.

G.E. employs about 300,000 people. Fewer than half, 131,000 are working in the USA. Let me repeat. Less than half of G.E.'s workforce are employed in America. G.E. has 277 plants in 43 countries and keeps overseas profits overseas. Thereby avoiding U.S. income tax. In fact, General Electric paid zero federal income tax in 2010 according to the "New York Times."

Are You Saying Romney Would Change That? Honest Question.

[cris]

Are You Saying Romney Would Change That? Honest Question.

Quick answer, yes

It would be easy to do....Obama could do it today, if he wanted to.

If he really wanted to win this election, all he would need to do is announce

a new platform.......No new Taxes, and reduced Regulations.

This Election is primarily about the Economy.

[Maggie123]

Oh I thought Romney might have a "specific plan" to address that problem.

If he did, I thought you would surely know about it.

I don't see how no new taxes and less regulations help change the fact that GE pays no taxes.

Edited August 20, 2012 by Maggie123

[cris]

Oh I thought Romney might have a "specific plan" to address that problem.

If he did, I thought you would surely know about it.

I just laid it out....Reduce Taxes and Regulations...Thats a job

and business friendly atmosphere.

Thats Romneys platform....Obama is the opposite of that.

[cris]

Oh I thought Romney might have a "specific plan" to address that problem.

If he did, I thought you would surely know about it.

I don't see how no new taxes and less regulations help change the fact that GE pays no taxes.

Ok...You changed the question on me midstream Maggie

Taxes & Regulations cause outsourcing.....So, if the policy is

reversed, well then, you get the reverse affect.

GE gets special deals from the Administration....Grants and Loans

that will likely never be paid back. When people talk of subsidizing

Corporations, Ge is one of the beneficiaries.

Even with that, US Taxes are so high, the highest in the world, GE

outsources jobs.

Im not the least bit interested in what a business pays in taxes, its

completely irrelevant IMO. The GDP and jobs are what is important.

This Country, overnight, could easily be on the right track again, and

easily lead the World out of the crises we are in. If you

want to create jobs, take the shackles off of business

Obama does not want to do that....Romney does

Edited August 20, 2012 by cris

[yota691]

Obama Outsourcing

The Obama administration has continued to make billions of taxpayer dollars available to the General Electric Corporation, mostly through loans but there were some grants for green energy projects.

G.E. employs about 300,000 people. Fewer than half, 131,000 are working in the USA. Let me repeat. Less than half of G.E.'s workforce are employed in America. G.E. has 277 plants in 43 countries and keeps overseas profits overseas. Thereby avoiding U.S. income tax. In fact, General Electric paid zero federal income tax in 2010 according to the "New York Times."

Don't forget to add Caterpillar to that List!!

A Record Of Failure Spanning The Globe

Over his four years in office, Obama promised that he would focus on creating "jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced." However, as he racked up trillions in new debt, billions of dollars did go to create jobs that were outsourced or spent overseas. Whether it is electric cars made in Finland or solar panels in Mexico,

taxpayers would be astonished to learn that their hard earned money went abroad for jobs that weren't created in the United States.

Roll Over Map For Details check out web site for details

And I will invest $15 billion a year in renewable sources of energy to create five million new energy jobs over the next decade - jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced; jobs building solar panels and wind turbines and a new electricity grid; jobs that will help us eliminate the oil we import from the Middle East in ten years and help save the planet in the bargain. That's how America can lead again."

President Barack Obama, October 30, 2008

Tracing Obama's Overseas Investments

Electric Cars

Obama handed over billions of dollars in loan guarantees and stimulus awards pursuant to his goal of putting one-million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. Much of that money ended up leaving our shores. A $2.4 billion stimulus program to support battery production sent nearly half of its money to foreign firms, including two South Korean companies that used their awards to hire foreign nationals in Michigan to do work that Americans easily could have done. In the end, despite all the money Obama handed out, electric vehicle sales have lagged and The Washington Post deemed his goal of one million electric cars "overly optimistic."

Wind Farms

Obama's stimulus included over $8.5 billion in grants for wind farms that flowed overseas, despite Congressional criticism from both sides of the aisle. In total, over half of the money went to either foreign developers or foreign wind turbine manufacturers, creating thousands of jobs overseas with money that was supposed to create jobs within the United States. Even worse, hundreds of millions of dollars went to wind farms that began construction before the stimulus was passed. The end result of all this spending: the wind energy industry lost 10,000 jobs last year.

Manufacturing TaxCredits

As Obama was doling out over $2.3 billion in clean energy manufacturing tax credits that were supposed to create jobs in America, $880 million went to foreign firms. Worse still, some of those same recipients are now closing up shop and shipping jobs overseas.

Loan Guarantees

Remember Solyndra? The problems with Obama's loan guarantee program don't end there. The largest recipient of Obama's program to jumpstart green energy projects was the Spanish Company Abengoa, which took in $2.7 billion in loan guarantees for three of its projects. Other projects importing foreign-made solar panels are, much in the same way as Fisker Automotive, choosing to make their products overseas. http://obamanomicsoutsourced.com/

Edited August 20, 2012 by yota691

[wpsmit]

drive by + yota

[yota691]

Switzerland

CRONYISM

Swiss-Based Landis+Gyr Received Over $50 Million In Stimulus Contracts For Their Smart Grid Meters. Cathy Zoi, A Former Obama Energy Department Official, Held Over $250,000 Worth Of Stock In The Company As They Profited From Her Department's Policies. Zoi Had Previously Served As An Executive Director At Landis+Gyr Before Joining The Obama Administration.

MAP SHARE

China

STIMULUS FUNDS

North Carolina-Based LED Maker Cree Inc. Received Over $39 Million Through The Stimulus And Later Opened Its First Plant In China. Over Half Of The Company's Employees Are Now Located In China And Cree's CEO Says The Company's Strategy Is "Cree Chip, China Heart."

LOAN GUARANTEES

Sempra Received A $337 Million Loan Guarantee For An Arizona Solar Plant. The Solar Panels Will Be Supplied By SunTech, A Chinese Solar Panel Manufacturer.

JOBS COUNCIL

General Electric Cancelled An Order From Wind Turbine Manufacturer ATI Casting In Order To Get The Parts Cheaper From China. After ATI Offered To Match The Price, GE Still Refused The Order. ATI Was Forced To Layoff 302 Workers Due To The Move.

General Electric Has Also Been Criticized For Using Chinese Made Wind Towers Over American Towers At The Stimulus Funded Shepherds Flat Wind Farm In Oregon.

STIMULUS FUNDS

Solar Power Industries Received A $5.4 Million Stimulus Grant Before Laying Off American Workers Based On An Increased Reliance On Imports From China.

MAP SHARE

Finland

LOAN GUARANTEES

After Receiving A $500 Million Loan Guarantee, Fisker Automotive Is Producing Their $100K Luxury Electric Sports Car In Finland.

MAP SHARE

Denmark

STIMULUS GRANTS

Subsidiaries Of Danish Wind Mill Maker Vestas Received $51.6 Million In Stimulus Grants To Build U.S. Based Factories. They Have Announced Plans To Layoff 180 U.S. Workers And Possibly Another 1,600 By The End Of The Year.

STIMULUS GRANTS

The Windy Flats Project Began Construction Before The Stimulus Was Passed, Received A $218 Million Stimulus Grant And Used Wind Turbines Assembled By Seimans In Denmark.

STIMULUS FUNDS

Danish Catalyst Company, Haldor Topsoe, Received A $25 Million Stimulus Award For The Construction Of A Demonstration Scale Biorefinery.

MAP SHARE

South Korea

STIMULUS FUNDS

Two Korean Manufacturers Of Electric Vehicle Batteries Were Given $300 Million To Build Plants In Michigan. Union Workers Are Now Claiming That Foreign Nationals Are Being Brought In To Fill Jobs That They Could Take. The Department Of Energy Has Admitted That 11 Of The 18 Contractors On Site Are Asian Firms.

STIMULUS GRANTS

The Gulf Wind Project Received A $179 Million Stimulus Grant And Sourced The Parts From South Korea, As Well As Japan And Mexico.

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Australia

STIMULUS FUNDS

The Melanoma Institute of Australia received a $162,000 stimulus contract to supply the National Cancer Institute with tumor samples.

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Mexico

STIMULUS FUNDS

SunPower Admits That Some of the Solar Panels for the $1.3 Billion Stimulus Backed California Solar Valley Ranch Will Be Manufactured At Their Facility In Mexico Rather Than Their Facility In California.

STIMULUS FUNDS

ABB Inc. Received Over $16 Million in Stimulus Funds to Create Green Energy Manufacturing Jobs, the Company Has Laid Off Workers in the U.S. and Transferred Work To Mexico.

MAP SHARE

Dominican Republic

STIMULUS FUNDS

Parago Used Stimulus Funds to Hire Hundreds of Workers in El Salvador and the Dominican Republic to Administer a Renewable Energy Appliance Rebate Program.

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New Zealand

STIMULUS FUNDS

A $817,000 Stimulus Contract Was Awarded To New Zealand's Connexionz To Install Bus Monitors For The City Of Santa Clarita. A Local Contractor That Could Have Performed The Work Objected To The Funds Going Overseas.

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Thailand

BAILOUT FUNDS

After Taking A Taxpayer-Funded Bailout, General Motors Opened A $200 Million Plant In Thailand To Supply Diesel Engines For The Chevrolet Colorado Pickup Truck.

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Vietnam

JOBS COUNCIL

General Electric Opened A $61 Million Factory In Hai Pong To Produce Wind Turbine Components. GE's CEO Jeffery Immelt Chairs The President's Jobs Council And The Company Has Received Over $1.2 Billion In Stimulus Funds.

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Italy

STIMULUS FUNDS

Brevini Wind Was Given A $12.75 Million Tax Credit To Build A Facility To Manufactuer Wind Turbine Gearboxes In Indiana. Over Two Years Later The Company Has Only Hired 70 Of The 450 Workers Promised And The Company Has Announced They Do Not Expect To Be Operating The Facility Until Late-2013.

CASHING IN

Italian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Pulled In Over $84 Million In Cash Grants Through The Stimulus' 1603 Program.

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Russia

STIMULUS FUNDS

Ener1 Received Over $118 Million In Stimulus Funds To Produce Vechicle Batteries. After Going Bankrupt, It Was Acquired Outright By A Russian Investor, Sparking Security Concerns Surrounding The Company's Work for The U.S. Military.

MAP SHARE

Germany

STIMULUS GRANTS

E.ON Climate & Renewables Received Over $440 Million In Stimulus Grants For Wind Farms That Began Construction Before The Stimulus Was Passed.

STIMULUS GRANTS

At Least 25 Wind Turbines For Stimulus Funded Projects Were Supplied By German-Based Nordex.

MAP SHARE

Luxembourg

STIMULUS FUNDS

Luxembourg-Based ArcelorMittal's Subsidiary Received $31.5 Million In Stimulus Funds For A Waste Heat Recovery Unit.

MAP SHARE

El Salvador

STIMULUS FUNDS

Parago Used Stimulus Funds to Hire Hundreds of Workers in El Salvador and the Dominican Republic to Administer a Renewable Energy Appliance Rebate Program.

MAP SHARE

Great Britain

STIMULUS FUNDS

$39 Million In Stimulus Funds Went To Navistar For Electric Delivery Trucks That Are Manufactured In Coventry, England.

STIMULUS GRANTS

British Private-Equity Firm Terra Firma Received Over $40 Million In Stimulus Funds Through An American Wind Consortium It Bought Just Days Before The Stimumuls Funds Were Awarded.

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India

STIMULUS GRANTS

India-Based Suzlon And Its Subsidiaries Installed Over 200 Wind Turbines Under Obama's Stimulus Grant Program With Most Of The Materials Coming From Its Operations Overseas.

MAP SHARE

Spain

STIMULUS FUNDS

Spain-Based Iberdrola Renewables Received $1.5 Billion In Loans And Grants And Claimed It Created Over 15,000 American Jobs But The Company Only Has 850 U.S.-Based Employees.

STIMULUS GRANTS

Madrid-Based EDP Renewables Received Over $100 Million In Grants For Their Wind Farms and Announced In September 2011 That They Were Planning To Lay Off 10% Of Their North American Workforce.

MAP SHARE

Indonesia

STIMULUS FUNDS

The EPA Gave A $1.5 Million Grant To Indonesia To Reduce Air Pollution In Jakarta.

MAP SHARE

Japan

STIMULUS GRANTS

Japanese-Subsidiary Eurus Energy Received $91.4 Million In Stimulus Grants For A Wind Farm Completed Before The Stimulus Was Passed And Used 180 Turbines Manufactured Overseas By Mitsubishi.

MAP SHARE

France

CASHING IN

French Wind Farm Developer EnXco Pulled In Over $69 Million In Cash Grants Through The Stimulus' 1603 Program.

http://obamanomicsoutsourced.com/

[jonjon]

The workers are planning a protest at the Republican National Convention.

I wonder if they will get arrested.

If law enforcement has to intervene I hope they only use non-lethal weapons. Rubber bullets, Bean bag rounds, pepper spray, "sting" grenades with rubber shrapnel, water cannons, Taser – stun guns, " flexible baton rounds, or tear gas.

I sure hope they don’t arrest anyone.

[simple]

Quick answer, yes

It would be easy to do....Obama could do it today, if he wanted to.

If he really wanted to win this election, all he would need to do is announce

a new platform.......No new Taxes, and reduced Regulations.

This Election is primarily about the Economy.

Don't kid yourself about outsourcing businesses/jobs overseas... was here long before Obama. You may never understand corporations. Furthermore, it goes directly against capitalism (an economic system in which industries are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state). WHY ON EARTH DO YOU BELIEVE ROMNEY WILL OR CAN MAKE THAT DRASTIC CHANGE? KNEE SLAPPER!

Introduce new corporate TAX codes is a job for congress. It won't happen abruptly because it will directly harm THEIR investments. Search "Obama tax offshore companies" for suggestions put forth to congress.

I don't understand why you relate every policy you don't like back to President Obama or the past 3.5 years.

Edited August 20, 2012 by simple

[caz1104]

<BR>Wow Delta. Did ya go over to the Obama camp or what? <IMG src="http://dinarvets.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/blink.gif"> <BR><BR><IMG src="http://conservativebyte.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Bull.jpg"><BR>

<BR><BR><BR><IMG src="http://dinarvets.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/emot-downsbravo.gif">  Krome<BR><BR>   & YOU GO YOTA!!!!!!!<IMG src="http://dinarvets.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif"> Edited August 20, 2012 by caz1104