WHO'd HAVE GUESSED?

Turn the clock back two years.  Who in the white heat of 2010's Tea Party energies would have the temerity to  foresee the presumed GOP candidate would be the sine qua non of the Establishment, a man who's infinitely more a reflection of Michael Douglas' portrayal of Gordon Gekko in Wall Street than Raymond Massey's Great Emancipator in Abe Lincoln in Illinois or How the West Was Won. 


Mitt Romney's bottom line is that he is a venture capitalist.  Not a comment or opinion, just a reality.  Applaud Mr. Romney's business success, but don't act like it's rooted in manufacturing r innovation.  He is no Andrew Carnegie or Fred Smith or Steve Jobs.  (And I doubt any of those three would have made sound presidential material.)  


Since I've ballyhooed the point that a venture capitalist is a far cry from a actual job creator, it was with great interest that I read a  04/15 commentary in the LA Times that looks at how the fictional poster boy for venture capitalist - the fictitious Gordon Gekko - could prove a problem for real-life Mitt Romney.  


When I hear Mitt Romney present his success as a great & glorious thing that should be applauded, not denigrated, am reminded of Michael Douglas' impassioned "greed is good" speech.  That one speech was more instructive than any economics class I took in college on the principles underlying venture capitalism.  And it helps me realize that the men & women who advocate such business tactics DO consider themselves as principled in what they do as , many of the rest of us experience them otherwise.


What does a venture capitalist do?  The LA TImes article captures Gekko's character - and all venture capitalists who achieve his level of success - in just one sentence.  "A downsizer and a union buster who refers to his trusted assistant as the Terminator, this guy doesn't eat lunch - this carnivore devours entire companies."


It fascinated me through the years to hear Michael Douglas recount his own amazement at the high regard his portrayal made him a hero on the real Wall Street.  Many's the time I heard him say on Leno or Letterman that he never had to pay for a drink or a meal if anyone from Wall Street was nearby - as the article states, "he was high-fived in his travels through Manhattan."  Still is.


Gordon Gekko was a venture capitalist.  Not a manufacturer nor someone who worked in overalls, using his hands to make a living, as Martin Sheen, playing Gekko's dad, did in the film.  He used other people's money to make even more money for himself & his investors.  He didn't need to work outside the system to be a success - although his character did - because the system ~ was then, is now ~ set up to present countless legal opportunities at little to no risk to himself or others.  


Maybe the challenge is that most Americans aren't economists.  We don't know how even the most legit venture capitalist is a profit maker, not job creator, is all about the 1% - or even the .01% - not the 99.  This is going to be a fascinating election cycle, seeing how much people want to learn & how much they want to be spoon fed.  


Break out the popcorn!