Safeco has been a Seattle corporate icon since… well… almost since Seattle has had corporate icons. But no more:
Liberty Mutual will buy Safeco for $6.12 billion in a deal to create the country’s fifth-biggest property insurer. […] Both boards have approved the deal, and the sale is expected to close by the end of the third quarter pending shareholder and regulatory approval.
Of course, the companies don’t mention it in their press release, but no doubt there will be substantial job losses at Safeco’s former headquarters after the firms consolidate their operations. But you know, if wealthy board members can get even wealthier selling out, even at the expense of their loyal employees and the local community that has supported the company for 85 years, well, that’s capitalism.
So… how does “Liberty Mutual Field” roll off your lips?
So how’s your conservative fierce individualism handle it when large corporations merge and fire you?
I know why Safeco got bought out. They pay too much for labor. Last year, they paid a consultant $28,000,000 for two months of part-time consulting work. That’s 1/2 of 1% of the entire market value of the company! I hate to think what the rest of their payroll looks like. Actually, I know. That consultant was a specialist in enacting cheap labor policies, such as a $2.13 minimum wage and letting the boss keep the tips! Unfortunately for Safeco, their high-priced cheap-labor consultant was better at talking than enacting and failed to deliver any cost savings for the company. So, Safeco had to sell itself. Another fucking failure of the capitalist system and putative free market!!
If you need any additional confirmation of how dysfunctional unregulated and untaxed capitalism is, I made $315 in the stock market this morning before getting out of bed. Even though I add no value to the companies whose stocks I trade, and produce nothing for the economy, I get paid better than I ever did for working — and get a better tax rate, too! With policies like these, and consultants getting paid $14 million a month to screw workers even worse, it’s not surprising that our economy is collapsing and the U.S. is well on its way to becoming another Haiti. If this continues, within a decade or two 50% of the U.S. population will live abroad as “guest workers” in countries like Nicaragua, Mexico, Paraguay, Bahrain, and Australia because they won’t be able to make a living or support themselves at home.
Safeco is worth less than what Delta Airlines lost in the last 3 months — $6.12B vs. $6.39B. Delta’s merger partner, Northwest Airlines, lost $4.1B in 1Q2008. What we have here, folks, is 2 airlines that want to marry each other with combined losses of nearly $10.5 billion in one quarter! Although I haven’t looked it up, that may exceed their total capitalization. Think about it, these two companies are losing money at the rate of $42 billion a year!! Their business model looks like Seattle light rail’s. How do they stay in business?
I see Goldy’s fund drive has blown past its $6,000 goal. To all you sneering wingnuts who hoped HA would be forced out of business, I’d flip you a middle finger, but all I have is toes. So, here’s a great big rabbit guffaw for you unpatriotic fascist fucktards:
HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR
Goldy is doing God’s work. And America’s work, too. Together, Goldy and his stable of liberal commentators are saving the world from fascism and economic slavery.
So… how does “Liberty Mutual Field” roll off your lips?
It doesn’t. It’ll be “The Lib”.
Issues with Liberty Mutual buing out Safeco …
LIMU is worse than WAMU as an AABR. Does nayone feel affectionate toward LIMU?
LIMU’s symbol .. is the NY harbor dingus .. you know the lady in a Burkha with her head scarf down and torch held high! That seems to only represent Alki!
It seems to me that a Seattle branch of Limu may want to take a certain Fremont staue as a local sumbol
Claim Denied Field?
8 “Seattle branch”???? Who says that once the smoke clears there’s going to be a single trace of the company formerly known as Safeco..other than the same dissatisfied customers?
Welcome baseball fans to another beautiful day here at the Mut. Hmm, I don’t know. This is the problem with naming sports venues after corporations in an economy where businesses are constantly bought, sold, absorbed, or simply go out of business. How about those Astros playing at Enron Field, wait I mean Minute Maid Park, wait I mean Juicy Juice Field… Whatever.
Our accountant has for years claimed that for a corporation to get its name hung on a major-league sports facility is an even more reliable predictor of that corporation’s impending disappearance than if it fills its offices with Aeron chairs.
I have yet to see him proven wrong.
“NEW YORK (Associated Press) – Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings are considering cutting their ratings on Liberty Mutual, the insurer that offered to buy Safeco Corp.”
What is it that Roger uses? Something like, “quoted under fair use doctrine”.
Companies come and companies go.
This will make room for the small local guys.
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An additional rule to add to #12 should be –
Companies that build shiny new headquarters tend to take a fall, as they spend too much time designing their personal space. We can call this the WaMu Rule (though I can think of plenty of others).
#5. Roger Rabbit spews:
Why would us sneering wingnuts want HA forced out of business, we enjoy watching your extreme-lefties whine and complain about everything. It makes us wingnuts laugh knowing that you and your ilk aren’t happy in life, have such hate in your heart for so many people you don’t even know and that you have become so bitter. You know what they say… when you hate so much you become what you hate. So tell me, what’s it like to steal money in the stock market without doing any work for it? Kinda like a government job.
Besides, what business is HA in, the charity business? They keep asking for donations so their business can’t be doing very well.
@9: I like it – “Claim denied field!”
or “Not covered by your current policy field”
The M’s will nedd lots of “insurance” runs with that bullpen….
or ground ball through the hole – “bad coverage” by the SS.
Steal home = foreclosure
Total home loss – not to the Orioles.