To their credit, the New York...

[Yonivore]

...Times runs a positive story about Romney. This isn't the first one I've heard about Romney. It is, however, the first I recall seeing in the Times. But, I digress.

In Real Estate Deal, Romney Made His Loss a Couple’s Gain (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/10/us/politics/in-real-estate-deal-romney-made-his-loss-a-couples-gain.html)


Look closely and it is there, sandwiched between Goldman Sachs Hedge Fund Partners II and D3 Family Bulldog Fund: the mortgage on Timothy and Betty Stamps’s modest home on Gentle Bend Drive here. …


http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/08/10/us/politics/10barber/10barber-articleLarge.jpg

[F]or the Stampses, who have been writing $600 monthly checks to “Willard M. Romney” for 15 years, the money they borrowed from him to buy their home in 1997 was life-changing. …

The result was a rare Romney flop: The housing market soon collapsed, and he was stuck renting out the houses for years before unloading them, mostly at a loss, in the late 1990s, according to property records. The renters were offered the first chance to buy, but the Stampses could not qualify for a mortgage, recalled Mr. Stamps, who at the time had recently lost his job at an oil company.

“Then I got this phone call, personally, from Mr. Romney, asking if we really wanted to buy the house,” Mr. Stamps, 63, said in an interview the other day at the barbershop he now runs. “I said, yes we did. And he said he would loan us the money. He really helped us when we needed it.” …

Mr. Stamps said he and his wife had received calls in recent months from strangers who “seemed to be looking for negative stuff” about Mr. Romney, but that the couple had nothing to say to them. …

When Mr. Stamps took the call from Mr. Romney, he and his wife, a nurse, had all but given up hope of being able to buy the house they had been renting for five years. Mr. Romney told him it looked like the couple had been taking good care of the property and that “we would be good people to buy it,” said Mr. Stamps. Mr. Stamps said he never heard from Mr. Romney again, and only became aware of who he was when he started running for president four years ago.
This isn't the first we've heard of Romney's kindness.

My question is this; where are these stories about Barack Obama? Where has he ever demonstrated such selflessness and kindness? He was a community organizer for years, surely there is a story of his doing something kind for someone in there somewhere... Well, I guess you could count the shout out to his drug pusher in his high school year book.

Or, maybe not.

[boutons_deux]

Gecko and his Bain predators have made $100Ms damaging the victim companies.

What about his secret tax returns?

What his MA secret/destroyed government records?

What about his secret/destroyed NoWhereLand Olympics records?

What about the Central American right-wing blood money he used to finance Bains' startup?

Gecko's entitlement: He's ENTITLED to secrecy from Queen Anne's "You People".

[AussieFanKurt]

He's gotta spend some of his offshore account money somehow

[Yonivore]

He's gotta spend some of his offshore account money somehow
When he made the loan, he wasn't the gadzillionaire the left keeps vilifying him for being.

[CosmicCowboy]

It's a sad world when a US political party spends millions of dollars on advertising advocating that making money is evil.

[MannyIsGod]

It's a sad world when a US political party spends millions of dollars on advertising advocating that making money is evil.

It's a sad word when you have to lie like this.

What I really think is sad, is how the GOP has completely gone against science in their efforts to get elected. Now THAT is a true happening.

[George Gervin's Afro]

It's a sad world when a US political party spends millions of dollars on advertising advocating that making money is evil.

:lmao

[DarrinS]

The lady then got cancer and got died.

[mercos]

Romney seems like a nice guy personally. By all accounts everyone around him genuinely loves the guy. His policies are not nice though, and would devastate the poor and the middle class. His business practices have already done so. Unlike most Republicans with regards to Obama, I don't hate Mitt Romney. I think he would be horrible for our country, and finish the job Bush started in destroying America, but I don't have a vitriolic hatred for him.

[Yonivore]

Romney seems like a nice guy personally. By all accounts everyone around him genuinely loves the guy. His policies are not nice though, and would devastate the poor and the middle class. His business practices have already done so.
His business practice have resulted in substantially more successes, employing tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people.

Using GST as an example (and I'm sure there were more such companies touched by Bain Capital), Bain invested in a failing company in an attempt to make it profitable and then sell it. That's what capital investment is about. GST was already on the ropes and in danger of closing before Bain Capital came along. Shit happens and it's unfortunate but, if you think every business story is going to be a success, you're more optimistic than is warranted.

Look at the government takeover of General Motors. In that fiasco, Delphi automotive equipment company had approximately 20,000 employees lose from 30% to 70% of their retirement pensions (while union employees had their pension funds topped out by our tax dollars), investors were completely bilked when -- contrary to established bankruptcy laws -- their order of priority in being compensated was moved behind the auto unions.

Do you want government really picking the winners and losers in business? There are going to be winners and losers (just like GST) but, frankly, I don't want my tax dollars in the game.


Unlike most Republicans with regards to Obama, I don't hate Mitt Romney. I think he would be horrible for our country, and finish the job Bush started in destroying America, but I don't have a vitriolic hatred for him.
I don't hate Obama either, I think he has already been horrible for our country. Name an economic accomplishment, mercos...other than convincing you Bush caused this problem.

If you want four more years of deepening debt, trillion dollar deficits, over 8% unemployment, slow to no growth, and accepting absolutely no responsibility for any of it; voted for Obama.

[coyotes_geek]

The lady then got cancer and got died.

:lmao


His policies are not nice though, and would devastate the poor and the middle class.

Romney has a policy?

[Yonivore]

Romney has a policy?
Yep.

Jobs and Growth (http://www.mittromney.com/jobs)

Much more at the website on Tax, Regulation, Energy, Trade, Labor, Human Capital, and Spending.

He has a plan.

[mercos]

His policy is an across the board tax cut on top of extending the Bush tax cuts. This idea would of course dramatically favor those at the top margins. He claims it will not add to the deficit, and he would close loop holes to pay for it. A non-partisan study recently came out saying the only way to do this would be through a $2,000 tax increase on middle class earners.

[George Gervin's Afro]

His policy is an across the board tax cut on top of extending the Bush tax cuts. This idea would of course dramatically favor those at the top margins. He claims it will not add to the deficit, and he would close loop holes to pay for it. A non-partisan study recently came out saying the only way to do this would be through a $2,000 tax increase on middle class earners.

but the trickle down theory works! so well it got us into this mess..so let's double down on it!

[coyotes_geek]

but the trickle down theory works! so well it got us into this mess..so let's double down on it!

Why did you blue this? Both parties are firm believers in the trickle down concept.

[Yonivore]

but the trickle down theory works! so well it got us into this mess..so let's double down on it!

The “Trickle Down” Left: Preserving a Vision (http://capitalismmagazine.com/2006/06/the-trickle-down-left-preserving-a-vision/)


The point, however, is not simply to move money around but to change behavior in a way that will result in more economic activity. Tax cuts have a long track record of doing that, resulting in rising national incomes and rising employment.

But there is no way that some people are ever going to admit that what they call “tax cuts for the rich” are tax cuts for the economy. As far as they are concerned, this is all just an excuse to “give” something to the rich, in hopes that it will “trickle down” to the lower income brackets.

A year ago this column defied anyone to quote any economist — in government, academia, or anywhere else outside an insane asylum — who had ever argued in favor of a “trickle down theory.”

Many people quoted David Stockman as saying that others had made that argument. But David Stockman was not even among the first thousand people to make that claim. What is crucial is that not one of those who made the claim could provide a single quote from anybody who had advocated a “trickle-down theory.”

The “trickle down theory” has been a stock phrase on the left for decades and yet not one of those who denounce it can find anybody who advocated it. The tenacity with which they cling to these catchwords shows how desperately they need them, if only to safeguard their vision of the world and of themselves.

Of course, Thomas Sowell has addressed this topic, as well -- back in 2005:

Stupidity trickling down (http://townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/2005/03/31/stupidity_trickling_down)


What I said that set off the crazies was that there is no such thing as "trickle-down" economics. Supposedly those who believe in trickle-down economics want to give benefits to the rich, on the assumption that these benefits will trickle down to the poor.

As someone who spent the first decade of his career researching, teaching and writing about the history of economic thought, I can say that no economist of the past two centuries had any such theory.

Some of those who denounced me for saying that there was no trickle-down theory cited an article by David Stockman years ago -- as if David Stockman was the last word, and I should forget everything I learned in years of research because David Stockman said otherwise.

What is often confused with a trickle-down theory is supply-side economics, such as that advocated by Arthur Laffer. That theory is that tax cuts can generate more tax revenue for the government because it changes people's behavior, causing more economic activity to take place, leading to more taxable income, as well as a faster growing economy.

It is not hard to find examples of when this happened -- for example, during the Kennedy administration, among other times and places. Whether it will happen in a given set of circumstances is what is controversial, but none of this has anything to do with money trickling down from the rich to the poor. It has to do with the creation of more wealth in the economy as a whole.
Nice bleat, though, George.

[Yonivore]

Why did you blue this? Both parties are firm believers in the trickle down concept.
Not exactly.

[George Gervin's Afro]

The “Trickle Down” Left: Preserving a Vision (http://capitalismmagazine.com/2006/06/the-trickle-down-left-preserving-a-vision/)



Of course, Thomas Sowell has addressed this topic, as well -- back in 2005:

Stupidity trickling down (http://townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/2005/03/31/stupidity_trickling_down)


Nice bleat, though, George.

thomas sowell...LOL

[Yonivore]

thomas sowell...LOL
Racist.

So, take them up on the challenge. Name an economist that espouses "trickle down" economics.

[Yonivore]

Sowell covered this same topic back in 2001...

Capital gains and "trickle down" (http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell092801.asp)


Those who imagine that profits first benefit business owners -- and that benefits only belatedly trickle down to workers -- have the sequence completely backward. When an investment is made, whether to build a railroad or to open a new restaurant, the first money is spent hiring people to do the work. Without that, nothing happens.

[Oh, Gee!!]

How is this an example of Romney's kindness? He made a secured loan for which he is being back with interest. That's not charity, that's a contract.

[ElNono]

How is this an example of Romney's kindness? He made a secured loan for which he is being back with interest. That's not charity, that's a contract.

Why do you hate people making money!?!?!?!?!

[Yonivore]

How is this an example of Romney's kindness? He made a secured loan for which he is being back with interest. That's not charity, that's a contract.
He could have allowed them to be put out on the street, I suppose. The homeowner is grateful and credits Romney.

[ChumpDumper]

Owner financing as an act of kindness.

Pretty funny.

[boutons_deux]

It's a sad world when a US political party spends millions of dollars on advertising advocating that making money is evil.

making money isn't evil

how the money is made can be very bad faith, unpatriotic, unethical, immoral, and evil (while still being legal).

[Yonivore]

Why do you hate people making money!?!?!?!?!
That doesn't need to be in blue.

[ChumpDumper]

OMG -- they would have had to rent a different house!

I now see what an amazing story this is.

[Yonivore]

so romney let people pay him money to buy a product from him?

that's what passes for kindness among the board repugs i spose
You people are so fucking tedious sometimes.


The result was a rare Romney flop: The housing market soon collapsed, and he was stuck renting out the houses for years before unloading them, mostly at a loss, in the late 1990s, according to property records. The renters were offered the first chance to buy, but the Stampses could not qualify for a mortgage, recalled Mr. Stamps, who at the time had recently lost his job at an oil company.
He could have unloaded the house with the rest of his holdings and just let the Stampses fend for themselves, I suppose.

[MannyIsGod]

Awww, we're tedious. :( :( :(

[ElNono]

OMG -- they would have had to rent a different house!

I now see what an amazing story this is.

:lol

[Yonivore]

thomas sowell...LOL
How's the search for a "Trickle Down" economist coming, George?

[ChumpDumper]

He could have unloaded the house with the rest of his holdings and just let the Stampses fend for themselves, I suppose.He did unload the house.

[CosmicCowboy]

Chump, I think the point was that although the people were clearly not credit worthy and couldn't qualify for a conventional loan that Romney gave them a chance to buy the house anyway instead of renting it.

I tend to agree that they are making a little much of a simple business transaction.

[Clipper Nation]

Yep.

Jobs and Growth (http://www.mittromney.com/jobs)

Much more at the website on Tax, Regulation, Energy, Trade, Labor, Human Capital, and Spending.

He has a plan.

Really? All I see is vague platitudes with no real specifics... now THIS is an actual plan...

http://www.ronpaul2012.com/the-issues/ron-paul-plan-to-restore-america/

[Yonivore]

Chump, I think the point was that although the people were clearly not credit worthy and couldn't qualify for a conventional loan that Romney gave them a chance to buy the house anyway instead of renting it.

I tend to agree that they are making a little much of a simple business transaction.
Well, to be fair, the Romney being painted by the Obama campaign would have kicked them out and, then, the wife would have died...6 years later.

[ChumpDumper]

Well, to be fair, the Romney being painted by the Obama campaign would have kicked them out and, then, the wife would have died...6 years later.Only if he couldn't make money off of them.

[scott]

He did unload the house.

But he didn't unload it at a loss, like he would have if these renters would have passed! That's kindness.

[Trainwreck2100]

:cry great fucking owner financer :cry

[Clipper Nation]

Well, to be fair, the Romney being painted by the Obama campaign would have kicked them out and, then, the wife would have died...6 years later.
Nah.... luckily, Willard invented the current government healthcare plan, which would have allowed her to live, ONLY under a neocon Republican president, though....

[Wild Cobra]

Nah.... luckily, Willard invented the current government healthcare plan, which would have allowed her to live, ONLY under a neocon Republican president, though....
States rights.

There are those of us who agree the states have the right to do this, but the federal government should not trample on the 10th amendment.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Yep.

Jobs and Growth (http://www.mittromney.com/jobs)

Much more at the website on Tax, Regulation, Energy, Trade, Labor, Human Capital, and Spending.

He has a plan.

So,

Flat tax, he calls it a reduction in the marginal rates but that's what it its
Corporate tax rate cuts
Repeal Frank-Dodd
reduce SEC oversight of corporate activity
Gut the clean air act
remove carbon reduction incentives
Typical GOP 'tort reform'
Push Pacific free trade agreement, create a "Reagan Trade Zone" which apparently means free trade agreements with 'democracies and free trade areas.' ie everyone but N Korea, Iran, and China. lets draw that line in the sand.
Punitive trade measures toward China
Nuclear power
Increase oil production
Build export pipelines
Deregulate fracking
Reduce renewable subsidies
Gut labor CBA
Cut labor training programs
Cut spending except for defense
Reduce NEA funding some more
Eliminate labor standards on government contracts

[Oh, Gee!!]

Chump, I think the point was that although the people were clearly not credit worthy and couldn't qualify for a conventional loan that Romney gave them a chance to buy the house anyway instead of renting.


Isn't that what people like you and yoni say is responsible for the credit collapse of 2008? Poor people getting loans that they shouldn't?

[4down]

Owner financing as an act of kindness.

Pretty funny.

Yeah, that's pretty much what it is - a kindness. An owner has no obligation to finance a purchase to an unqualified buyer. You think Barry would have just given him the house?

[4down]

Isn't that what people like you and yoni say is responsible for the credit collapse of 2008? Poor people getting loans that they shouldn't?

He didn't loan him any money. Apparently just allowed an installment plan to buy the house.