Mitt’s Multilevel Minions
Mitt’s Multilevel Minions
Mormon country is rife with miracle-pure peddlers whose get-rich-quick schemes have boomed in the recession. One of the biggest beneficiaries of their campaign largesse? Mitt Romney.
By Stephanie Mencimer
Mother Jones | May/June 2012 Issue
Inside a cramped doctor’s office near a busy thoroughfare in Alexandria, Virginia, two women are getting their faces buzzed with a faintly humming device that looks like an electric razor. It’s a “galvanic spa,” and its electrical charges, combined with special gels and serums, are supposed to target “youth gene clusters” and reverse the effects of aging. But the group of about 20 men and women gathered here haven’t come just for the free skin-care treatments. They’re here to learn about a business opportunity.
Mitt Romney
This is a recruiting session for the Utah-based multilevel-marketing (MLM) company Nu Skin, which sells vitamins, dietary supplements, and beauty products through a network of independent distributors. The meeting is led by an energetic 42-year-old named Martha Sanchez, who frames her pitch with a lengthy explanation of just how hard it is to save for retirement. She flashes slides that illustrate how much of a nest egg you need to generate $5,000 a month in “residual” income: At 5 percent interest, it’s a staggering $1.25 million.
The promise of a steady flow of passive income lies at the heart of Nu Skin’s pitch. Its business model entails recruiting distributors, who in turn recruit more distributors, and so on, with each layer kicking the proceeds up the chain. Theoretically, as your “downline” grows, so do your monthly commission checks, even as your own effort diminishes.