Dave E,

I merely said I wouldn't point to Hardy as an example of how great a company is doing after being bought by an investment firm when they just laid off 27% of their work force. I do know that most of the mfg's in the industry with a similar size workforce to Hardy have not laid off a quarter of their employees this year. I know that some of the rod makers are actually growing. I know that some of the lifestyle sporting goods retail-mfgs like Orvis, LL Bean, et al. are actually doing quite well in this down economy. So the answer to some of those questions you asked is "Yeah, I pretty much do." Hardy said in the news article I linked to that their sales are way down. Go figure! That happens when you don't have a recession-proof business model.

You see, I'm all for free enterprise, entrepreneurship, private enterprise, and all that good stuff. But capitalism has an unseemly and inefficient "dark side" that comes along with its ability to energize private enterprise. It can be extremely predatory and is often very parasitic. That's why I was also surprised you chose the Madoff boys' old company as another example to try and reinforce your point. But the bottom line is that only time will tell if Mustad gets better, worse, or stays the same. People can hang all the labels the want to, but the truth is that nothing is all good or all bad, and each of us has to stand on the merits and faults of our own character and results.