# Sensata: Romney's Hypocrisy **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 27, 2012, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sensata-romneys-hypocrisy/639043 "2012-10-27T13:17:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2012, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sensata-romneys-hypocrisy/639043/61 "2012-10-28T10:51:52Z")
Romney’s flaws are well understood even by his supporters. If he was running against an incumbent who was as pure as the driven snow, or even somewhat competent, it might be a problem. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2012, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sensata-romneys-hypocrisy/639043/62 "2012-10-28T11:44:15Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > …give more credence to the Luddites than they deserve… Da fuck? Huh? Care to give us some idea of what or who you are talking about here? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2012, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sensata-romneys-hypocrisy/639043/63 "2012-10-28T12:09:13Z")
Luddites are people who resist progress in a short-sighted effort to save jobs. It’s become less fashionable to attack automation, mainly because outsourcing is the latest bogeyman. It’s ignorant and the Presidential candidates should demagogue it as little as possible. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2012, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sensata-romneys-hypocrisy/639043/64 "2012-10-28T13:09:47Z")
Well, Romney certainly isn’t “demagoguing” Sensata! He isn’t talking about it at all, so you got that one right! ---
**Author:** ![Dumbguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Dumbguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dumbguy)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2012, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sensata-romneys-hypocrisy/639043/65 "2012-10-29T17:15:04Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Sort, but more along the lines of “it makes business sense to do this because China is ‘cheating’ and Obama is letting them, but I’ll prevent China from ‘cheating’ and so it won’t make business sense (at least for the ‘good jobs’).” So he’s saying that an individual business will do what’s good for that business, whether or not it’s good for the country at large, and it’s the role of government to try to regulate the playing field to the benefit of all? I think I might like this Romney guy after all. ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2012, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sensata-romneys-hypocrisy/639043/66 "2012-10-29T17:49:23Z")
If a company is floundering and cannot compete paying workers the going rate here in the U.S. and workers after negotiations refuse to accede to the wage necessary for the company to make a reasonable profit, then it is understandable that the company would seek to outsource jobs at a lower rate if possible. This is not the case with Sensata. Sensata stock is so attractive right now, possibly because of the expected decrease in labor costs, that the company has instituted a $250 million buyback of its own shares. Its latest quarterly report, released on the 23rd of October shows a company that had 2012 third quarter net revenue of $471.9 million, down $2.4 million from the third quarter 2011 net revenue of $474.3 million. However net income for the quarter was $41.5 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, versus third quarter 2011 net income of $26.2 million, or $0.14 per diluted share. This is clearly not a case of a company in chaos or even difficulty. It is a case of company greed, greed which is the essential characteristic of Bain Capital and Mitt Romney. ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sensata-romneys-hypocrisy/639043/67 "2012-11-01T22:56:50Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > I don’t think outsourcing to foreign countries should be stopped. Let capital flow to the cheapest source–that’s what creates the biggest favorable impact on our economy for the most people. > [@adaher](#): > > Luddites are people who resist progress in a short-sighted effort to save jobs. It’s become less fashionable to attack automation, mainly because outsourcing is the latest bogeyman. It’s ignorant and the Presidential candidates should demagogue it as little as possible. Glad you mentioned this, I was going to bring up automation and it was going to look like it came from nowhere! During the industrial period, the productive power of the populace increased enormously due to improvements in the manufacturing process. The amount of labour reified in one commodity decreased proportionately. What did this entail for the “most people”? “[Our wages have fallen](http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/01/09ft.htm#marx)” and in fact, their [children died](http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch15.htm#S3). _Cui bono_? A century later, we have an increase in the power of capital (and onerous restrictions of the movement of labour). A resurgence in outsourcing since the 70s and what progress have we seen in the purchasing power of the average American? In contrast, what have we seen of CEO remuneration? ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2012, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sensata-romneys-hypocrisy/639043/68 "2012-11-02T05:30:22Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Obama’s portfolio also includes outsourcers. Chances are, yours does too unless you don’t own stock at all or are extremely selective without caring much about returns. > > Might as well complain about companies that use automation. > [@adaher](#): > > What does every candidate promise to do in regards to China? What does every President actually do? > [@elucidator](#): > > OK, so Romney has no direct control over Sensata. Does that mean he can’t say anything about it? Has he some compelling moral obligation to keep his pie hole closed? Since when? The notion of American workers having to train Chinese to take their jobs? He can’t say anything about that? When Obama imposed trade sanctions against China for dumping, Romney attacked Obama. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sensata-romneys-hypocrisy/639043.md?page=3)