It’s impossible not to feel for the people in this video.

At the same time, the story is not reflective of the average outcome of private equity investing. While Bain may have profited from the deal, it is far more profitable for a private equity firm to make a struggling business successful and sell it, rather than close it down. The ad makes it seem as though Bain came in with the intention of closing the factory, which is extremely unlikely. It’s just not how leveraged buyouts work. When they do work, previously uncompetitive businesses can be made productive and efficient…and yes, the investors make a great deal of money.

I do work in the financial industry so obviously I have some bias. But it’s still a bit unfair to characterize this story as typical of a private equity buyout. Romney had also left Bain by the time the company went bankrupt. Still, it’s the Obama campaign’s job to hit Romney with this sort of thing an it’s fair game. It will also be hard to counter because the upside of private equity is much more complicated than “people lost their jobs to this evil bloodsucking Wall Street firm.”