Romney tells voters he knows what it’s like to fear getting a ‘pink slip’

Mitt Romney, attacked by GOP rivals for his private-sector experience with Bain Capital, told New Hampshire voters Sunday that he knew what it was like to fear losing one's job.

"I know these are tough times," Romney told people at a campaign event in Rochester, N.H., according to media reports. "I've learned what it's like to sign the front of a paycheck, not just the back of a paycheck, and to know how frightening it is to see if you can make the payroll at the end of the week. These are experiences that many of you know."

"I know what it's like to worry whether you're going to get fired," he added. "There were a couple of times I wondered whether I was going to get a pink slip."

Reports said Romney's campaign, when asked by voters about the statements, did not provide any examples of situations where Romney feared losing his job.

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and one-time CEO of Bain Capital, has faced attacks from his GOP rivals and Democrats over his work with the private equity firm, accusing him of shuttering businesses or laying off workers.

“I’m very much for free enterprise,” said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich during a Saturday debate in Manchester, N.H. “I’m not nearly as enamored of a Wall Street model where you can flip companies, you can go in and have leveraged buyouts.”

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum has also attacked Romney’s background, saying the United States doesn’t need a corporate manager and that Romney would not be able to boost the struggling economy.

Romney insists that the work he did restructuring companies with Bain actually helped create 100,000 jobs — a figure his opponents contest.

“I’m very proud of the fact that the two enterprises I led were quite successful,” Romney said on Saturday.

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