(Newser)
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If you're shopping for school supplies at Staples this fall, you can thank Mitt Romney, the presidential candidate reminds readers in today's Wall Street Journal. Staples was "one of many businesses we helped create and expand at Bain Capital," he writes. "The lessons I learned over my 15 years at Bain Capital were valuable" in running both the 2002 Olympics and Massachusetts. Now, he thinks they'd help as president. Lessons Romney says he learned include:
- Good ideas aren't enough on their own. You also need "a talented team, a good business plan, and capital" to see them through. Romney says he'd help businesses along by reducing taxes, making it easier for them to draw investors.
- Energy costs matter. He accuses President Obama of limiting exploration "in a ways that sap economic performance, curtail growth, and kill jobs." For more on Romney's energy plan, click here.
- Innovation matters. Romney writes that "state-of-the-art new technology" allowed Bain to create Steel Dynamics, now one of America's largest steel producers. He says his policies, which he doesn't specify, will improve access to higher education, making such innovation possible.
- Problems must be tackled quickly. Curiously, Romney touts his work with medical diagnostics firm Damon, which was fined for its billing practices and saw one manager go to jail for fraud. But Romney takes credit for catching the problem early, launching an internal investigation when a rival firm had similar problems. "When you see a problem, run toward it or it will only gets worse," he writes, saying he will take the same approach to the federal budget.
Click for
Romney's full piece.
