If you’re a regular listener to WTOP, you are no doubt familiar with those government-related commercials involving “mission critical” tasks related to “federal IT” through “cloud-computing solutions” while defending against “malware.” What’s going on here and what is it that these people do? My friend Buck works in “investor relations,” meaning what? The comedian Larry Miller says he is clueless about hedgefunds, even after his hedgefund friend explains to him what he does. This got me thinking of Mitt Romney and his private equity experience at Bain Capital and Bain and Company, which turned into this week’s Casual column in The Weekly Standard.
Not knowing what a person actually does for a living also reminded me of the scene in Goodfellas when Karen asks Henry what exactly he does (after being led into the Copa). “I’m in construction,” Henry tells Karen, who says his hands “don’t feel like construction.” Henry clarifies, “I’m a union delegate.”