csbarry
I'm just getting started!
As someone who lived through the Mitt Romney, 70th Governor of Massachusetts era, I feel compelled to let the rest of the Country know just what we've gone through since Mr. Romney sat in office and was shown the door. Oh yes, he was shown the door, in a manner of speaking. His decision not to run for a second term was a very clever preemptive strike to avoid an embarrassing loss in the next election, as his lieutenant governor eventually suffered.
As a Presidential candidate, there are two critical phases of Mr. Romney's life one must consider. To begin with, there's his involvement with Bain Capital, which began as a private equity investment firm spun off from Bain & Company under Mr. Romney's direction in 1984. In the beginning, Bain Capital focused on venture capital opportunities. However, it wasn't long before Mr. Romney switched Bain Capital's focus from startups to the relatively new business of leveraged buyouts, that is, buying existing firms with money mostly borrowed against the assets of said firms, partnering with existing management to apply the "Bain way" to their operations, and then selling them off in a few years. It is claimed that this method is less hostile than those used in other leverage buyouts, but it is what it is; buying up companies to acquire its assets and then sell them off, with no regard for those involved. I have no intention of specifically indicting Mr. Romney on the following, but leverage buyouts were the processes by which many of you watched your pensions dissolve or otherwise disappear.
Regarding his time as Governor of Massachusetts, Mr. Romney took his toll on its residents as well. Mr. Romney supported raising various fees by more than $300 million, including those for driver's licenses, marriage licenses, and gun licenses. He increased a special gasoline retailer fee by two cents per gallon, generating about $60 million per year in additional revenue. Although Mr. Romney closed tax loopholes that brought in some $300 million from businesses during his tenure winning him plaudits from the legislature, it is considered a trade-off for the state legislatures support in cutting state expenditures by $1.6 billion, including $700 million in reductions in state aid to cities and towns. The cuts also included a $140 million reduction in state funding for higher education, which led state-run colleges and universities to increase tuition by 63 percent over four years. Mr. Romney sought additional cuts in his last year as Massachusetts governor by vetoing nearly 250 items in the state budget, but all of them were overridden by the Democratic-dominated legislature. The cuts in state spending put added pressure on local property taxes; the share of town and city revenues coming from property taxes rose from 49 percent to 53 percent.
Mr. Romney has most certainly put us between a rock and a hard place when it comes to medical insurance. Prior to 2003 and Mr. Romney's tenure, I paid approximately $3500.00 a year for medical insurance to cover both my wife and I. Our only out of pocket expense was a $15.00 co-pay per office visit. Today, I must pay approximately $5200.00 a year for what is basically the same coverage my wife and I have always had. In addition to the premium, there is a $2000.00 deductible that must be applied for all other services, save our annual physicals. Adding insult to injury, our co-pay for an office visit is now $20.00.
Mr. Romney's mandate all but eliminated the competition within the medical insurance marketplace. His efforts also created unforeseen costs that are being passed along to the residents of Massachusetts. If you don't think Mr. Romney will attempt to mandate some kind medical insurance policy for one and all, you're sadly mistaken.
It would be easy for someone to claim that I'm talking through my backside, but nothing could be further from the truth. What I haven't drawn from personal experience comes from Wikipedia.
Please, Google Mitt Romney.
As a Presidential candidate, there are two critical phases of Mr. Romney's life one must consider. To begin with, there's his involvement with Bain Capital, which began as a private equity investment firm spun off from Bain & Company under Mr. Romney's direction in 1984. In the beginning, Bain Capital focused on venture capital opportunities. However, it wasn't long before Mr. Romney switched Bain Capital's focus from startups to the relatively new business of leveraged buyouts, that is, buying existing firms with money mostly borrowed against the assets of said firms, partnering with existing management to apply the "Bain way" to their operations, and then selling them off in a few years. It is claimed that this method is less hostile than those used in other leverage buyouts, but it is what it is; buying up companies to acquire its assets and then sell them off, with no regard for those involved. I have no intention of specifically indicting Mr. Romney on the following, but leverage buyouts were the processes by which many of you watched your pensions dissolve or otherwise disappear.
Regarding his time as Governor of Massachusetts, Mr. Romney took his toll on its residents as well. Mr. Romney supported raising various fees by more than $300 million, including those for driver's licenses, marriage licenses, and gun licenses. He increased a special gasoline retailer fee by two cents per gallon, generating about $60 million per year in additional revenue. Although Mr. Romney closed tax loopholes that brought in some $300 million from businesses during his tenure winning him plaudits from the legislature, it is considered a trade-off for the state legislatures support in cutting state expenditures by $1.6 billion, including $700 million in reductions in state aid to cities and towns. The cuts also included a $140 million reduction in state funding for higher education, which led state-run colleges and universities to increase tuition by 63 percent over four years. Mr. Romney sought additional cuts in his last year as Massachusetts governor by vetoing nearly 250 items in the state budget, but all of them were overridden by the Democratic-dominated legislature. The cuts in state spending put added pressure on local property taxes; the share of town and city revenues coming from property taxes rose from 49 percent to 53 percent.
Mr. Romney has most certainly put us between a rock and a hard place when it comes to medical insurance. Prior to 2003 and Mr. Romney's tenure, I paid approximately $3500.00 a year for medical insurance to cover both my wife and I. Our only out of pocket expense was a $15.00 co-pay per office visit. Today, I must pay approximately $5200.00 a year for what is basically the same coverage my wife and I have always had. In addition to the premium, there is a $2000.00 deductible that must be applied for all other services, save our annual physicals. Adding insult to injury, our co-pay for an office visit is now $20.00.
Mr. Romney's mandate all but eliminated the competition within the medical insurance marketplace. His efforts also created unforeseen costs that are being passed along to the residents of Massachusetts. If you don't think Mr. Romney will attempt to mandate some kind medical insurance policy for one and all, you're sadly mistaken.
It would be easy for someone to claim that I'm talking through my backside, but nothing could be further from the truth. What I haven't drawn from personal experience comes from Wikipedia.
Please, Google Mitt Romney.
