Link to original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...5lQ&feature=emb_logo

I went there looking for photos once. I recall it as a depressed and dying place. I guess I was right and that's pretty sad. The theater looked to have been closed for while.

The Goodhand 1

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
While I don’t like what has been done to Sidney, I don’t know what could be done without intruding on personal property freedoms. How is this any different than what happens to a small town when the government closes a military facility? What would happen to Minot, ND if the USAF were to leave? Much the same as what Sidney is experiencing.

To comment on your query about military BRAC closures. Take a look at Vallejo Calif after Mare Island Naval Shipyard was closed in the early '90s. The town went bankrupt and really still hasn't fully recovered.

As for Cabela's, when I moved to South Dakota due to the BRAC action above, I made numerous trips south to Sidney. Fond memories. But these days I won't set foot in their local store. Scheels has their thunder around here.

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
...How is this any different than what happens to a small town when the government closes a military facility? What would happen to Minot, ND if the USAF were to leave? Much the same as what Sidney is experiencing.

Cabelas was death blow #2 for Sidney. From 1942 to 1967 there was an ammo depot next door:

https://www.onlyinyourstate.co...sioux-army-depot-ne/

More detailed history:

http://inkwellmarket.com/wordpress/?p=198

The depot's airstrip:

http://www.airfields-freeman.c...ields_NE_W.htm#sioux

If there's anything I would change because of this type of situation, it would be to change capital gains taxation so that long term investment is rewarded, and short term cut and run speculation is discouraged. And this would apply to all asset sales, including those by corporations.

quote:

Originally posted by roberth:
What a load of bullshit, the hedge fund didn't destroy anything.

Sidney destroyed itself by becomin......

Sums it up. Agenda driven writing, blaming others, not yourself. Haven't seen that before.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:

"Destroyed" implies purposeful action.

Not always. "Destroy" can me used with many connotations. Consider these:

quote:

Copied from the Dictionary / Thesaurus app on my computer:

the new highway would destroy the conservation area: spoil, ruin, wreck, disfigure, blight, mar, impair, deface, scar, injure, harm, devastate, damage, wreak havoc on; informal total.

illness destroyed his career: wreck, ruin, spoil, disrupt, undo, upset, put an end to, put a stop to, terminate, frustrate, blight, crush, quash, dash, scotch; devastate, demolish, scuttle, sabotage; informal mess up, foul up, put the kibosh on, fry, do for, blow a hole in; archaic bring to naught.

quote:

Originally posted by bald1:
Scheels has their thunder around here.

I love Scheels. After REI showed their ass, I now make the extra 10-15 minute drive to go to Scheels for items I otherwise would've bought at REI.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:

quote:

Originally posted by roberth:
What a load of bullshit, the hedge fund didn't destroy anything.

Sidney destroyed itself by becomin......

Sums it up. Agenda driven writing, blaming others, not yourself. Haven't seen that before.

I get that Sidney shouldn't have relied on Cabela's for the town's livelihood. Maybe they didn't, though? Maybe they tried to bring other business to the area but were unsuccessful for one reason or another. Unless somebody here has been in communication with the mayor and the Chamber of Commerce, we don't know what, if any, efforts were made in that regard.

Tucker's point is what Singer did with the company is a destructive form of capitalism that benefits only him and his shareholders. The jobs the company supported, either directly or indirectly; the loyal buyers who would go back year after year and share their positive experience with others, and the longevity of a profitable company were all destroyed after the hedge fund took control. What's more, that was the goal when Singer started moves against Cabela - maximize the short-term at the expense of long-term. That sort of thinking is beneficial to only a few, certainly not to the economy as a whole.

Additionally, another point that Tucker brought up is that even the robber barons of old gave to charity something of their massive wealth. If anyone is aware of what charitable causes Singer supports and the amount of support he personally provides I, for one, would be interested to know.

quote:

I get that Sidney shouldn't have relied on Cabela's for the town's livelihood. Maybe they didn't, though? Maybe they tried to bring other business to the area but were unsuccessful for one reason or another. Unless somebody here has been in communication with the mayor and the Chamber of Commerce, we don't know what, if any, efforts were made in that regard.

What really kills towns, large and small, is greedy politicians. Capitalism produces jobs, and destroys jobs, and then produces other jobs... when allowed to function.
The problem is that when a large employer pays a lot of taxes and then leaves, the tax stream dries up. Government should immediately scale back. But it doesn't. Local greedy politicians, rather than cutting government, usually look to replace the income by raising taxes on the people and property who remain. That makes it harder to attract new employers and creates a downward spiral.

quote:

Additionally, another point that Tucker brought up is that even the robber barons of old gave to charity something of their massive wealth. If anyone is aware of what charitable causes Singer supports and the amount of support he personally provides I, for one, would be interested to know.

What about the Cabela family? They were good employers when they were in Sidney, Nebraska. But they sold out.
When they sold out, and collected billions, what did they do for the community they left behind?

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:

quote:

Originally posted by roberth:
What a load of bullshit, the hedge fund didn't destroy anything.

Sidney destroyed itself by becoming too dependent on Cabela’s, they’re paying the price for being a one horse town.

Sums it up. Agenda driven writing, blaming others, not yourself. Haven't seen that before.

Simple, ain’t it.

Cabela’s evolved from a a few fishing flies sold for the price of postage to what it ultimately became. Sidney didn’t “choose” to become dependent, they were blessed to have what no other town in the West had, “the World Headquarters” of the largest outdoor retailer in America. What the two of you are saying, says to me that you’re both so thoroughly urbanized that you have no concept of the last 60 years in small town America.

The town I am from is circling the drain as companies leave.

First Firestone tire closed in 1985, laying off thousands. Cooper tire came in in the early 90's and the economy turned for the worse, so the unions in Ohio and Texas voted to close the Albany plant to save their jobs instead of having a layoff at all three plants.

Cooper turned around and just shuttered all three plants and moved to China and Mexico.

Bob's Candies left for Mexico back in the early 2000's because of sugar taxes. Lost the whole plant.

McGregor Golf closed up in the 2000's and moved manufacturing to China.

It just keep getting worse. Miller Brewery and Proctor and Gamble are all that's left.

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:

quote:

I get that Sidney shouldn't have relied on Cabela's for the town's livelihood. Maybe they didn't, though? Maybe they tried to bring other business to the area but were unsuccessful for one reason or another. Unless somebody here has been in communication with the mayor and the Chamber of Commerce, we don't know what, if any, efforts were made in that regard.

What really kills towns, large and small, is greedy politicians. Capitalism produces jobs, and destroys jobs, and then produces other jobs... when allowed to function.
The problem is that when a large employer pays a lot of taxes and then leaves, the tax stream dries up. Government should immediately scale back. But it doesn't. Local greedy politicians, rather than cutting government, usually look to replace the income by raising taxes on the people and property who remain. That makes it harder to attract new employers and creates a downward spiral.

quote:

Additionally, another point that Tucker brought up is that even the robber barons of old gave to charity something of their massive wealth. If anyone is aware of what charitable causes Singer supports and the amount of support he personally provides I, for one, would be interested to know.

What about the Cabela family? They were good employers when they were in Sidney, Nebraska. But they sold out.
When they sold out, and collected billions, what did they do for the community they left behind?

I don't have an answer to your first statement about greedy politicians killing the town of Sidney because I don't know what measures the city council has taken to try and help the town survive. Do you know?

As for your equating the Cabela family with the likes of Singer, I don't see how you can make the connection. The Cabela family built the business; expanded; and were forced out of their business by Singer. The Cabelas had a choice to either sell and take away something or fight a costly court battle to retain control with no guarantee that they wouldn't lose everything. My understanding is that although the Cabela's of today with their multiple stores wasn't as good as the company of years past, at least they wanted to remain in operation and be profitable.

In my opinion, going public was a big mistake for Cabela's but that it was necessary for them to expand. Unfortunately that opened the door for someone like Singer to move in and take over.

As regards support for Sidney after they sold, I don't know. I suppose you could check with the mayor and Chamber of Commerce, but as for the Cabelas charitable donations, there's this:
https://www.cabelafamilyfoundation.org/

quote:

I don't have an answer to your first statement about greedy politicians killing the town of Sidney because I don't know what measures the city council has taken to try and help the town survive. Do you know?

No, I don't know specifically "what measures the city council has taken to try and help the town survive".
However, I've seen what happened to the City of St. Louis, and so many other cities.
The population has declined since 1950 (when they enacted a "city earnings tax") from about 1 million to about 300,000 people. The City government did not cut costs, but continued to increase taxes, driving more and more people away from the city. You would think that after 70 years of declining population they would figure out that they made a mistake.

quote:

As for your equating the Cabela family with the likes of Singer, I don't see how you can make the connection.

I didn't say they were the same. I just asked what they did for the town after they cashed out. I don't know.

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:

quote:

I don't have an answer to your first statement about greedy politicians killing the town of Sidney because I don't know what measures the city council has taken to try and help the town survive. Do you know?

No, I don't know specifically "what measures the city council has taken to try and help the town survive".
However, I've seen what happened to the City of St. Louis, and so many other cities.
The population has declined since 1950 (when they enacted a "city earnings tax") from about 1 million to about 300,000 people. The City government did not cut costs, but continued to increase taxes, driving more and more people away from the city. You would think that after 70 years of declining population they would figure out that they made a mistake.

Then if you don't know the specifics of this situation you don't have any basis to lay blame on the people who run Sidney, NE. Maybe they are as bad as your St. Louis politicians, then again maybe they aren't.

quote:

Then if you don't know the specifics of this situation you don't have any basis to lay blame on the people who run Sidney, NE. Maybe they are as bad as your St. Louis politicians, then again maybe they aren't.

I didn't "lay blame on the people who run Sidney, NE"... at least not specifically. I'm talking about what comes next, after the employer has left. Then what do the politicians do?

I said:
"What really kills towns, large and small, is greedy politicians."
I stand by that. Capitalism works, if allowed to function. It's not capitalism that has kills cities. When an employer leaves, and the government's revenue stream dries up, government shouldn't try to shift the burden to those who remain. Government should cut costs and services. A town with low taxes will attract more new employers, and better keep existing employers, than a town offering TIFs or other "special deals".

That is very sad to hear. My Cousin use to work for Cabela's 20 years ago. He was a graphic designer for the catalog. He said it was a extremely good company to work for and loved living in Sidney. Since they merged with Bass-Pro shop I don't care for them much. They have made changes to the stores and customer service is not the best. My folks use to buy a lot from them and have since cancelled there credit card with them and won't buy from them.

Another view:

December 5, 2019
Tucker Carlson goes too far on populism and Cabela's
By Frank Friday

Tucker Carlson's show on Fox News is always interesting and provocative. Not only will he puncture liberal talking points like so many toy balloons, but he takes on some of the lamest characters on the right. I especially liked his prescient feud with John Bolton, the most overrated character in the Republican Party since the young Harold Stassen.

But in the rush to embrace some sort of populist "new way" economy, by Tucker and other Trumpist intellectuals, and marginalize the egomaniac billionaires who seem to own both political parties, a lot of unavoidable market truths are being ignored to the detriment of whatever legacy the Trump years may create.

A good example is Tucker's recent piece on buy-out king Paul Singer, blaming him for wrecking little Sidney, Nebraska when Cabela's recently merged with Bass Pro Shops. Only it wasn't Singer who sold out Sidney; it was the owners, the Cabela family, who sold off the company several years ago in an unrestricted IPO. And that's purely their decision alone. They built the business, and they didn't owe anybody in town when they sold it.

The Cabela family started the firm back in the 1960s as a mail-order hobby business, just like the Morris family that runs Bass Pro Shops. Both companies hit it big in the 1990s with outdoorsman superstores, often built with massive local government subsidies. Bass Pro will stay in its Springfield, Mo. home because the Morris family has kept it a tightly controlled operation.

But the Cabela family took no steps to make sure its company headquarters stayed in tiny, isolated Sidney, nor did any of the top executives, who no doubt owned stock in the firm, take any measures to keep control of the venture through the many legal devices they might have used, such as an ESOP, or a super-vote category of common stock. (That's how the Sulzbergers keep hold of the NYT, by the way, and by not selling out the newspaper long ago to the highest bidder, they lost untold millions. Obviously, it was more important to them to keep the company a family-run fiefdom of nutty left-wing journalism.)

So it's no surprise, once outsiders owned the company, that somebody like Paul Singer would see the logic in merging Cabela's and Bass Pro, in what is now a very mature market segment. The share owners of Cabela's were paid a handsome premium for their company, and most of the top corporate workers at the Cabela's HQ in Sidney moved on to commensurate jobs in bigger towns. The only real losers in Sidney were people who didn't work at Cabela's but hoped the good times there would last a few more decades. Sorry for them, but it was pure serendipity that such a small place ever had a major corporate HQ.

Nobody did anything wrong here. There's no market failure. There's just the inevitable passing of the torch for a successful business, when the owners retire and management moves on. Tucker noticeably doesn't suggest any particular law or government program to address Sidney, Nebraska's problems. As with a lot of isolated small towns on the Great Plains in decline, there are no easy answers.

Same thing in my home state. The Eastern Kentucky coal fields were a thriving part of America in the first half of the 20th century. But less coal was needed the last few decades, while the mines were made safer with automation. Economic diversification was limited by the hilly topography, making building modern roads and industrial parks too expensive for much of the area. Again, nobody's fault. (And doing things like bringing back crazy, violent labor unions will help no one.) But the good news is, lots of medium-sized cities in the Trump economy are doing well, so moving away for work may not involve going so far.

There is one economic idea I am kind of surprised Tucker and his populists have not yet come to embrace, because it would meet some of their concerns yet still function well in a market economy: distributism. By that, I don't mean some of the more far out versions, like G.K. Chesterton's comic notion of having everyone dress up in a particular manner to identify his trade or profession, like a medieval guild, but simply having more big companies owned as cooperative or mutual concerns run by the employees or customers.

This idea is really nothing new — some of the country's biggest businesses are organized this way. Agriculture has long been dominated by farmer-owned co-ops; likewise, much of the insurance business is policy-holder-owned. And as small banks disappear, customer-owned credit unions have sprouted up everywhere. Mutually owned companies also seem to have no problem keeping their small-town roots, such as the insurance giants State Farm in Bloomington, Illinois and Sentry in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.

Now, there is nothing magic about mutual-owned companies, and if their products or management systems fail, they go out of business like anybody else. But there is something to be said for having a lot of private industry with this form of business ownership. Mutual concerns have the benefit of not having to meet short-term pressures to hike their stock every quarter, allowing them, one would hope, to invest wisely for the long term.

To that end, perhaps we can better incentivize our tax and pension laws to encourage the mutual form of corporation. Certainly, if it ever comes to pass that some of the big tech monopolies are broken up by antitrust action, a mutual form of ownership might be ideal for their successors. You wouldn't just be handing over your private data to social media companies; you could be earning equity with every click.

Even better, perhaps the broadcast companies themselves could be a customer-run cooperative. For starters, we Fox News viewers could make sure our favorites like Tucker and Sean and Laura stay in prime time and then send Judge Napolitano back to the Hoboken Traffic Court, where he belongs.

Read more: https://www.americanthinker.co...s.html#ixzz67FKRZqnP

The article from American Thinker is interesting in how it absolves Paul Singer and his financial tactics from any blame of the decline of Cabela's and puts it all on the Cabela family for being sellouts. In other words: Cabela family is evil for how they make money; Paul Singer is saintly for how he makes money.

Definitely a different perspective, but not one I agree with.

I do like mutually owned companies or cooperatives. On that I agree with the article.

I have no problem with capitalism/free markets bringing about change. I just mourn what Cabelas used to be to me. I loved their hunting clothes. Even when they moved the bulk of the manufacturing to Vietnam.
Even though it was still made in Vietnam I still felt that it was at least designed and used by actual hunter's the spent days out in the field in all kinds of weather.
The Bass Pro brand RedHead is absolute pure Wal Mart Crapola.