Mitt Romney Sort Of Promises To Bank In U.S. If Elected President

[trailmonkee]

Source: TheHuffingtonPost

WASHINGTON -- Mitt Romney might repatriate his vast overseas holdings if he is elected president, the GOP candidate said in an interview with Parade magazine.

The family-friendly periodical asked readers what questions the Romneys should be asked during the interview, which led to the question on Romney's offshore funds.

"There were a number of questions about your financial wealth," Parade noted. "New Jersey resident Harry H. asked if you would make this pledge: If elected, do you promise to bank in the United States?"

Romney first replied by claiming that the decision was out of his hands. "My investments have been managed for almost the last 10 years by a blind trust. A trustee decides where to put our money. If I'm president, my understanding is the same principle applies, that I may not direct any of my investments. I can't tell you what my investments might be because I won't make them," he said. "But I'm happy to have every investment in the United States."

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/25/mitt-romney-bank_n_1830307.html

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Just think about how friggin crazy this sounds? 'if you elected me president, I will make sure I bank in the country that elects me?'.... This election season is completely bonkers!

[arely staircase]

1. that was pretty weak

i am happy to.....

bullsh*t, non-answer

[karynnj]

2. Only IF, how patriotic!

Not to mention, he does get to DIRECT the trustee. It is clearly a problem to no one if he asks that his assets be in US banks.

[Cagiva38]

10. Only IF, you had a clue

By definition of a Blind Trust he does not get to direct the trustee. That's the whole point of having a Blind Trust! The Trustee has discretionary power over the investments and the owner does not have power to direct or have knowledge of the direction of the assets. It is designed to eliminate conflicts of interest or the perception there of.

[JDPriestly]

20. Who hires and fires the Trustee? It isn't left up to a court in this case.

And why is the Trustee in Romney's case investing in so many things related to Bain Capital?

[JDPriestly]

21. So, he isn't even president, and he already makes has a policy of plausible denial.

I don't buy the idea that his blind trust is all that blind. It appears to be very close to the vest of Bain Capital. I think the law firm that runs the trust is very careful to do what he wants or what they think he wants.

Does Romney have the authority to fire and hire the lawyer running his trust? Has he ever worked with that lawyer on Bain Capital matters?

[brush]

25. Change

He can always change who the trustee is. He even called blind trust a "ruse" himself. There's an old video out of him using that very word about blind trusts.

[karynnj]

33. Not true - you can set up guidelines

You do not need to give a complete blank check. Certainly you can specify no assets parked in tax havens. (Note that you might want to say that the account should be managed to preserve wealth rather than to maximize growth - or the opposite for that matter.)

Not to mention, his assets include many complex Bain Capital funds that predate when he put things into a blind account.

Note that YOU missed my point that he says this is something he will do IF he wins. That suggests that he is avoiding these border line legal schemes JUST because he is running. (Reminds me of his comment on using illegal labors for landscaping - that he was running for office, for Pete's Sake.)

[Angry Dragon]

3. And in the past he has called a blind trust a sham

There is nothing stopping him from telling the trustee to make all his investments in the US.
Willard is an ass.

[Cagiva38]

11. WRONG

um....yes there is something stopping him from telling the trustee to make the investments in the U.S. It's called a Blind Trust! By definition it stops him from directing the investments.

[Angry Dragon]

16. Would this explaination be correct??

Investopedia explains 'Blind Trust'
Blind trusts are generally used when a trustor wishes to keep the beneficiary unaware of the specific assets in the trust, such as to avoid conflict of interest between the beneficiary and the investments.

[Ruby the Liberal]

18. LOL! Daily details on trx maybe

but not strategy declarations.

Nice try though.

[freshwest]

31. Yes, thanks, MIRT.

[beac]

22. 1994 Mitt does not agree with you:

[truthisfreedom]

26. But his blind trust is not a legal blind trust.

[annabanana]

4. R-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-ight

For Sale:

[BeyondGeography]

5. Geeze Loueeze

Just lie already.

[Bluenorthwest]

6. Mitt Romney 1994: "Blind trusts are an age old ruse"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002928979

[magical thyme]

7. I have no doubt he'll move his money to the US. Just as soon as he

lowers the capital gains tax rate on multi-millionaires to zero.

First, though, he'll have to raise mere peon workers and retirees taxes to ensure that we learn to live within our means and at our destined level, cardboard boxes for home and eating dirt, in order to fund more wars and support the 1% in the manner to which they are accustomed.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

8. A blind trust alright! Very blind

[Trillo]

9. That's hilarious!

He's running on his financial expertise, but he doesn't manage his own investments!

[Cagiva38]

12. Really???

He manages them by having them in a Blind Trust, and pays a person to manage them full time! That's what smart people do!

[Trillo]

14. It is freaking hilarious!

Romney's past expertise is in dismantling successful companies and ruining American families, for personal gain, and in tax avoidance for himself, and his former company for foreign clients. He doesn't want us to look at that.

But he does want us to look at his financial expertise as proof he's qualified 'to turn America around' as top CEO, aka CIC, all without disclosure of his offshore holdings or even a sufficient number of past tax returns.

It is freaking hilarious!

He's flying higher than a kite, and as a Mormon, he probably doesn't do drugs. See my sig line.

[Paulie]

15. No, that's what people do when they have more money than they know what to do with

There is a whole industry of "private wealth" management just for those with 20+ million in liquidity.

Just another example that RMONEY is out of touch with the 99%.

[MrScorpio]

13. Are we supposed to be impressed? nt

[Liberal Veteran]

17. What more do "you people" want?

Ok, if he also promises to sing America the Beautiful while juggling sparklers and shooting red, white, and blue fireworks out his ass, I'll give him an extra patriot point.

But I still won't vote for his sorry lying ass.

[ilikeitthatway]

19. lol, Mitt Romney couldn't even sort out his own state

#47 in job creation. Come on!

[Omaha Steve]

23. His blind trust isn't legally a blind trust

He has know for four years he would be running for President. Shouldn't he have moved the Rmoney home FIRST?

[Botany]

24. Please Mitt keep talking just keep talking

All right time for a big old DU 'fess up. Which one of you are running
the Romney campaign? Because this is not a campaign but performance
art.



Mott the Hoople and the game of Life (Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
Andy Kaufman in the wrestling match (Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
Monopoly, Twenty-one, Checkers, and Chess (Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
Mister Fred Blassie in a breakfast mess (Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
Let's play Twister, let's play Risk (Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
See you heaven if you make the list (Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)

Now, Andy did you hear about this one
Tell me, are you locked in the punch
Andy are you goofing on Elvis? Hey, baby
Are we losing touch
If you believed they put a man on the moon, man on the moon
If you believe there's nothing up his sleeve, then nothing is cool

[Canuckistanian]

27. "IF"

He'll repatriate his money IF he gets elected.

Otherwise, he has no incentive.

Nice.

[librarylu]

28. Maybe he'll....

.....pay ten years of taxes retroactively.

[krkaufman]

29. bunk!

I expect that it would be quite permissible for one to provide guidelines for a blind trust, if it was truly desired, to avoid the types of issues Romney now faces.

[Kablooie]

30. Romney said himself in 94 "You can always tell a blind trust what to do. You can give it rules."

So much for him having no control as to whether it's invested in the US or not.

[wordpix]

32. a Dem majority in Congress might incentivize this "IF" a-hole. Let's elect them & make offshoring

investments taxable at the same rate as in the US.

[bamacrat]

34. This should illustrate how out of touch he is.

I wonder if Obama banks outside of the US? I wonder how many of the lower 99% does? What a douche