I am not surprised at all, after hearing the story of its gutting by the vulture capitalists who sucked it dry and left the husk to bleach in the sun..... The rise of monopolists and venture capitalists in US business is one of the tragic stories that both parties must take the blame for allowing to happen. Bill Clinton actively supported the neoliberal supply-side economics of the Reagan era, and in fact signed the law repealing the 1934 Glass-Steagall Act, which protected us from risky dealing by our large commercial banks. Without Glass-Steagall, it took the "Masters of the Universe' only 10 years to bring the US economy, and the global economies that depended on it, to the brink of ruin, for which we are still paying a price. The only way we can possibly set this right is the complete reform of our entire financial and investment system, plus full and serious application of the Sherman And Clayton Anti-trust Acts, which have lain fallow since Ronnie entered the White House. To do that we need a president and government with the guts to take on the big money that has bought the government and the courts..... Makes me wonder what the hell Sally Yates is doing these days.....
I remember when Slickster Willy (who I never voted for on grounds I only vote for Democrats, and one read of his scamming of the ROTC was enough to never be surprised at his attempted con artist jobs) killed Glass Steagal. A business lawyer I was seeing socially at the time despite her being a registered Republican (different times) told me that she gave 8-10 years before things fell apart. She was really strongly in favor of keeping all banking closely regulated. She was right.
Slick Willy ( I know, Tom...) got more Repugnantkin legislation pushed through Congers than any Repug POTUS ever did. The hottest Ozark Wallstreeter ever. Don't get me started on Angleman and the flights from Central America to Arkansas, OKed by Gov. Willy, with un-tracked cargo...
Another problem with both Red Lobster and Olive Garden is their refusal to take reservations, Like most working people (before I retired) I went out for dinner Friday or Saturday night. I tried twice to go to a Red Lobster around the 5 to 7 dining hours. They had had a two to three hour wait list, no seating for the crowd. Same with Olive Garden, although I frequently had lunch at Olive Garden when I was traveling as they seemed to have enough seating and wait staff. I never did eat a Red Lobster.
If you're going to run a popular above the cafeteria style dinner restaurant, you'd better damned well see to it that your wait lists are no more than 30 to 60 minutes max or you take reservations.
Good article, thanks TC. They could have added poor store management, inconsistent food quality, and frequently lousy service. When the culinary high point is the bread, a restaurant doesn't have much to go on.
Just like people who buy forest land and then cut down all the trees to pay for it. Instead of building something worthwhile, they take it apart and sell off all the assets. It’s a sickness.
We had one close to where I live in Sarasota. My city is right on the water and has very good access to fresh local seafood, yet during the snowbird season Red Lobster was always packed. My location has since shut down and has become an independent seafood restaurant.
This looks like the standard private equity story. I feel for the employees, but losing Red Lobster is not a huge loss.
We have a local hospital system, owned and operated by a special county district, that is a cornerstone of the community and has one of the lowest costs for Fl hospitals while providing quality care. A GOP legislator is pushing a bill to force its sale. Meanwhile the corporate-owned hospital here is ridden with debt and was bat-infested ! 🦇
What Happens When Private Equity Takes Over A Hospital
⬇️
New analysis shows alarming increase in patient complications
The private equity fucking around in the case of Red Lobster is a common example of the steep downside of capitalism. Not "creative destruction", as its apologists often claim... just destruction for the profit of a few, and the socialization of the "private" risk to Main Street through Wall Street mechanisms. (Anybody remember a little thing called Credit Default Swap derivatives?)
What's revealed is that at the top, elite levels of finance, capitalism is a house of cards with the elitists like Dimon et al dealing from the bottom of the deck, free of any actually meaningful rules, since the rule makers are all bought and paid for.
As long as Citizens United stands there will be no substantive changes on Wall Street. A healthy democracy would allow the best leaders to rise to the top without hitting the money barrier. One could argue that the money filter/fence is there as a challenge to assure the best leaders get to the top, but I'm skeptical because the money barrier is often one of corruption, inheritance, and/or luck and not that Yankee hard work and merit we used to be so proud of. Leaders who'd actually deal with the excesses of Wall Street head on have mostly been precluded and co-opted by Wall Street.
I stopped going there years ago. It seemed to me like the lobster in the tank at the door was already simmering in the pot. Maybe just waiting for a chance to escape before the heat trapped it. Did the greedy bastards commit suicide on its behalf. Bye bye lobster, Jaime Dimon is still King.
I prefer to live in a country that would neither hang bankers, nor was capable of deporting 10 million people. Fortunately, neither is about to occur.
As much as I love shrimp, Red Lobster’s time had passed. Apparently the long chain of former owners felt the same and played hot potato until the private equity guys caught it and killed it. Don’t blame them. They were no more unimaginative or mis-incentivized than the former ownership.
Vultures, scavengers, and bottom feeders all have a roll to play in nature. And they do in the economy.
I am not surprised at all, after hearing the story of its gutting by the vulture capitalists who sucked it dry and left the husk to bleach in the sun..... The rise of monopolists and venture capitalists in US business is one of the tragic stories that both parties must take the blame for allowing to happen. Bill Clinton actively supported the neoliberal supply-side economics of the Reagan era, and in fact signed the law repealing the 1934 Glass-Steagall Act, which protected us from risky dealing by our large commercial banks. Without Glass-Steagall, it took the "Masters of the Universe' only 10 years to bring the US economy, and the global economies that depended on it, to the brink of ruin, for which we are still paying a price. The only way we can possibly set this right is the complete reform of our entire financial and investment system, plus full and serious application of the Sherman And Clayton Anti-trust Acts, which have lain fallow since Ronnie entered the White House. To do that we need a president and government with the guts to take on the big money that has bought the government and the courts..... Makes me wonder what the hell Sally Yates is doing these days.....
I remember when Slickster Willy (who I never voted for on grounds I only vote for Democrats, and one read of his scamming of the ROTC was enough to never be surprised at his attempted con artist jobs) killed Glass Steagal. A business lawyer I was seeing socially at the time despite her being a registered Republican (different times) told me that she gave 8-10 years before things fell apart. She was really strongly in favor of keeping all banking closely regulated. She was right.
Slick Willy ( I know, Tom...) got more Repugnantkin legislation pushed through Congers than any Repug POTUS ever did. The hottest Ozark Wallstreeter ever. Don't get me started on Angleman and the flights from Central America to Arkansas, OKed by Gov. Willy, with un-tracked cargo...
Another problem with both Red Lobster and Olive Garden is their refusal to take reservations, Like most working people (before I retired) I went out for dinner Friday or Saturday night. I tried twice to go to a Red Lobster around the 5 to 7 dining hours. They had had a two to three hour wait list, no seating for the crowd. Same with Olive Garden, although I frequently had lunch at Olive Garden when I was traveling as they seemed to have enough seating and wait staff. I never did eat a Red Lobster.
If you're going to run a popular above the cafeteria style dinner restaurant, you'd better damned well see to it that your wait lists are no more than 30 to 60 minutes max or you take reservations.
Good article, thanks TC. They could have added poor store management, inconsistent food quality, and frequently lousy service. When the culinary high point is the bread, a restaurant doesn't have much to go on.
But those cheese biscuits were so so good!!!
Just like people who buy forest land and then cut down all the trees to pay for it. Instead of building something worthwhile, they take it apart and sell off all the assets. It’s a sickness.
That's why it's called "vulture capitalism."
That's the business model of Mitt Romney's Bain Capital in a nutshell. He ran for POTUS as a typical Republican destroyer of stuff.
“Destroyer of stuff” indeed along with people’s livelihoods and entire ecosystems.
We had one close to where I live in Sarasota. My city is right on the water and has very good access to fresh local seafood, yet during the snowbird season Red Lobster was always packed. My location has since shut down and has become an independent seafood restaurant.
This looks like the standard private equity story. I feel for the employees, but losing Red Lobster is not a huge loss.
Private equity, hedge funds, venture capitalists…bah!
We have a local hospital system, owned and operated by a special county district, that is a cornerstone of the community and has one of the lowest costs for Fl hospitals while providing quality care. A GOP legislator is pushing a bill to force its sale. Meanwhile the corporate-owned hospital here is ridden with debt and was bat-infested ! 🦇
What Happens When Private Equity Takes Over A Hospital
⬇️
New analysis shows alarming increase in patient complications
https://hms.harvard.edu/news/what-happens-when-private-equity-takes-over-hospital
The private equity fucking around in the case of Red Lobster is a common example of the steep downside of capitalism. Not "creative destruction", as its apologists often claim... just destruction for the profit of a few, and the socialization of the "private" risk to Main Street through Wall Street mechanisms. (Anybody remember a little thing called Credit Default Swap derivatives?)
What's revealed is that at the top, elite levels of finance, capitalism is a house of cards with the elitists like Dimon et al dealing from the bottom of the deck, free of any actually meaningful rules, since the rule makers are all bought and paid for.
Hear! Hear!
I haven't been to Red Lobster
in years, basically due to the
poor service and food quality
around here. Interesting article TC. Thanks.
Yeah, as best I can remember, the last time I was in one was back in 1984. My nephew used to love Endless Shrimp when it was a limited special offer.
As long as Citizens United stands there will be no substantive changes on Wall Street. A healthy democracy would allow the best leaders to rise to the top without hitting the money barrier. One could argue that the money filter/fence is there as a challenge to assure the best leaders get to the top, but I'm skeptical because the money barrier is often one of corruption, inheritance, and/or luck and not that Yankee hard work and merit we used to be so proud of. Leaders who'd actually deal with the excesses of Wall Street head on have mostly been precluded and co-opted by Wall Street.
I stopped going there years ago. It seemed to me like the lobster in the tank at the door was already simmering in the pot. Maybe just waiting for a chance to escape before the heat trapped it. Did the greedy bastards commit suicide on its behalf. Bye bye lobster, Jaime Dimon is still King.
And we have such a vulture as governor of Virginia, currently.
I prefer to live in a country that would neither hang bankers, nor was capable of deporting 10 million people. Fortunately, neither is about to occur.
As much as I love shrimp, Red Lobster’s time had passed. Apparently the long chain of former owners felt the same and played hot potato until the private equity guys caught it and killed it. Don’t blame them. They were no more unimaginative or mis-incentivized than the former ownership.
Vultures, scavengers, and bottom feeders all have a roll to play in nature. And they do in the economy.