BURTON: Latest Romney claim on business "dubious" and "twists the facts"

After having his fabricated 100,000 jobs claim mocked, Mitt Romney switched to a newly created '80%' statistic for his time in the private sector. The Washington Post says Romney's new claim is "rather dubious", employs "suspect statistics" and "the Romney Campaign should stop using it." Factcheck.org writes that Romney's campaign “twists the facts” and is "misreading or misrepresenting" information.

Romney began running for political office two decades ago but still has not found an honest way to describe how his time as a corporate buyout CEO prepares him to lead our country. The truth is that Romney’s only goal in business was to grow wealth for himself and his partners even if that meant driving companies to bankruptcy, leaving tens of thousands without work -- even eliminating promised health and retirement benefits.

Background

Washington Post: Romney Claim “Rather Dubious,” “Problematic” and Uses “Suspect Statistics”; “The Romney Campaign Should Stop Using It.”  According to the Washington Post’s Fact Checker, “Here’s why the 80-percent figure is problematic: It tells you almost nothing about the success or failure of these companies. In fact, it is almost surprising the figure is not nearly 100 percent. The Bain statement is so vague and imprecise that in theory revenues could grow a single year, but fall in other years, and still be claimed as a growth in revenues. Moreover, the statistic takes no account of whether the business ultimately failed, despite revenue growth, because under Bain’s direction it had taken on too much debt…The other problem with this statistic — at least as the Romney campaign uses it — is that many of these investments took place long after Romney had left the firm, some 13 years ago, which makes it increasingly irrelevant to his skills or performance…Until we can verify this figure, it means little — and the Romney campaign should stop using it as well. At the moment, it appears rather dubious. Three Pinocchios.” [Washington Post, 5/30/12]

Factcheck.org: Romney Campaign’s Gillespie “Twists the Facts” Promoting Figures that “Cannot Be Independently Verified.” According to Factcheckorg, “A letter Bain Capital sent to its investors is now becoming a talking point for Mitt Romney surrogates. But once again the company letter, which boasts of Bain’s success, is being misrepresented — this time by Ed Gillespie, a senior adviser to the Romney campaign…Gillespie gets his figures from a March 13 letter that Bain Capital sent to its investors. Romney cofounded Bain in 1984. But the letter covered Bain’s entire 28-year history, not just the 14 years (1984 to early 1999) when Romney was in charge. Also, Bain’s figures cannot be independently verified and its information is presented in the best possible light for the company.” [Factcheck.org, 5/29/12]

Factcheck.org: Romney Campaign's Sununu "Misreading or Misrepresenting” Statement that “Did Not Provide Any Support for Either Claim.” According to Factcheck.org, “John H. Sununu, a top surrogate for Mitt Romney, wrongly claimed Bain Capital was “able to save jobs … about 80 percent of the time” at companies in which it had invested. Sununu was misreading or misrepresenting a Bain statement on revenues, not jobs…We cannot verify Bain Capital’s claim of revenue growth or its claim that its revenues created “hundreds of thousands of jobs.” The firm did not provide any support for either claim.” [Factcheck.org, 5/25/12]