Private equity, public benefit

As usual, uber-lefty Gary Crooks starts out moderately until the subtle left jabs begin with, “But that’s not how it works when you’re a private equity manager.”

He uses NPR, an entity with no conservatives (or moderates) as his backup. He needs to watch the Jan. 20 Fareed Zakaria CNN program with guest David Rubenstein, the head of the giant private equity company The Carlyle Group.

Rubenstein is a lifelong liberal Democrat who gives heavily to Democrats. He worked for President Jimmy Carter.

He explains exactly how Carlyle has worked since they became a public company. He shows how they buy badly performing or broke companies and fix them, creating value for the company and Carlyle shareholders, mostly adding jobs. The largest shareholders are union and private pension funds!

I am 79, worked since I was 11, and am not rich. I was moderately successful and have a good-sized amount in the market. My income is Social Security, and the rest from dividend/capital gains. I need to keep my tax rate at 15 percent on this income. Crooks and others describe fairness in their own terms.

Bain held the companies they took over an average of seven years!

Jack L. Thompson

Spokane