Texas Governor Rick Perry is on the air in Iowa this week with an ad that includes criticism of Mitt Romney’s private equity background:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES2ml9CGvhY]
But here’s something the ad doesn’t mention: The Texas Teachers’ Retirement System, whose board of trustees is appointed by the state’s governor, has invested in multiple Bain Capital funds with Perry in office.
These funds are too recent to be managed by Romney, of course, but Bain’s general business model remains fairly consistent: Acquire companies through the use of leverage and try to make the company stronger, even if that means layoffs.
If Perry is so offended by the model, shouldn’t have have asked some of his appointees to oppose the investments? Or is the truth that Perry is fine with Bain, except when he’s running against its former leader? Hypocrisy either way.
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