Benjamin Wallace-Wells credits Mitt with a great deal of business innovation:
Our economy went through a remarkable shift during the eighties as Wall Street reclaimed control of American business and sought to remake it in its own image. Romney developed one of the tools that made this possible, pioneering the use of takeovers to change the way a business functioned, remaking it in the name of efficiency. "Whatever you think of his politics, you have to give him credit," says Steven Kaplan, a professor of finance and entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago. "He came up with a model that was very successful and very innovative and that now everybody uses." The protests going on at Zuccotti Park now have raised the question of whether that transition was worth it.
Will Wilkinson is skeptical. Update from a reader with experience in the takeover sector:
As an attorney who practiced with the leading New York takeover law firm in the '80s, I can assure you that the idea that Romney was a seminal player in the takeover world is pure nonsense. He was at best a bit player in the takeover game, utilizing strategies developed by other bigger players and their law firms. Most of the companies he was involved with ended up bankrupt or otherwise weakened. Yes, he made money taking huge fees from the companies, and firing lots of middle-class workers in the process - that's all part of the Wall Street game – but he didn't remake the takeover world.
The Dish 