So, apparently Wall Street Owns 20% of the American Gun Industry

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/b...industrys-giant.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&ref=us

So what do you guys think? An investment firm has surreptitiously purchased a lot of gun manufacturers. Quality seems to have fallen, and the firm is making typical capitalist slash and burn moves. For example, (1) closing down Bushmaster in Maine and consolidating with the Remington factory, (2) overpricing the hyped ACR, (3) delivering a lot of sparkle (i.e. DPMS rifles) but not a lot of bite (i.e. common issues with DPMS).

I like, or hope, that companies remain fiercely independent and competitive, and avoid big Walmart-like pressure from monied firms. My biggest gripe with Cerberus management is the release of the ACR. It was supposed to be a revolutionary firearm, and for all intents and purposes it's a well thought out design. Owners gush with positive praise--HOWEVER: (A) After years of delay, price was approximately $700-$1,000 more than promised. (B) 1/9 twist barrels indicate that whoever designed the specs had no fuckin' idea what they were doing. (C) Weight. Heavy weight. QD Barrel ratchet isn't properly designed (too heavy, breaks, no Return to zero) (D) Slamfire malfunctions and recall notice. (E) malfunctions with pressure on magazine (F) Chargine handle peens against receiver. The gun clearly needs a lot more R&D and is far from a mature design. However, Cerberus decided to release the gun to great fanfare with some idiotic website featuring bearded dudes in MICH2001 helmets shooting the ACR (All show, no substance).In short, it seems like the company cut corners in hopes of maximizing profit.

It just seems to me, like attention to detail and pride in craftsmanship went out the door in favor of profit. And now I see REMINGTON emblazoned across guns in the popular Modern Warfare 3 (again, chasing more show, without demonstrating substance).

What do you guys think of Cerberus? Is it what is needed to push more guns in to more owners, thus helping 'normalize' firearm ownership? Is a big company good in order to bring more leverage against other interests? (For example, certain Walmarts carrying Bushmaster AR15s now). Do you think Cerberus has the best interests of the acquired companies in mind?

Please discuss .

In before "park avenue is not wall street." (READ: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street)

 

Enough time to play video games but not spraypaint a gun eh? ooo busted !!!

The only positive I can think of is that perhaps the "Freedom Group" would have a fair amount of pro-gun lobbying juice from flooding the market with their widgets.
--- merged: Nov 28, 2011 6:35 AM ---
And just on an aside, I find it humorous when people use the term "Wall Street" when they are pissed at large corporations. A large percentage of adults have some sort of 401k or individual retirement account which generally contains stock in companies they bemoan (such as banks, oil companies, and makers of war machines).

 

BUT that majority of Americans that have their 401K's and retirement funds (IRAs) in the stock market have very little say in what the companies do, Wall Street and the bankers who own the majority of those companies have the final say and in most cases VOTE for the people who happen to have that stock in their 401K portfolio.

Example: My mom has had money in her mutual fund but it is managed by Edward Jones. Which means Edward Jones then decides which stocks they put into her fund and which don't go into it. Does she have any say in the matter? NOPE. She can however pull out and go somewhere else BUT if she does so she faces a stiff penalty. So, Edward Jones can fuck her over, invest her into companies she doesn't want to be involved with (such as BP or RBS) and so on, and she can do nothing about it. Just as she can request to have some put into what she may want to be invested in such as Ford and Edward Jones can say, "No, go fuck yourself." They also can control the votes when there is an election for the board of directors, thus putting in whoever they want to and setting whatever policies they chose to be beneficial to them and NOT the people who have money in the funds. That was the problem with Enron and it was NEVER fixed nor regulated.

So while your statement above is partially true there is far more to it than the Beck/Limbaugh/Hannity/Faux News take on the matter. Hey half truths said long enough will get the masses to believe.

 

Don't forget about Sarah Palin, she's a great source of information as well

 

if the firearms manufacturers go down, and there's still a market for guns, somebody's going to see the potential profit to be made and fill the gap... at least according to my nifty color by number supply-demand chart.

 

Looks like Cerberus/Freedom Group is hacking and slashing. AAC rumored to move to NY w/ Remington. AAC's head fired, along w/ AAC's plant manager. Wow.

http://militarytimes.com/blogs/gearscout/2012/01/25/acc-fires-thompson-moving-to-ny/#more