No, the Red Sox are not the most overpaid team in Boston. That title belongs to Liberty Mutual’s favorite nine - former CEO Ted Kelly’s immediate underlings.
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and still not one bloody word from the pen and quill winner on how an entity like liberty nutual managed to get a $46.5 million dollar tax subsidy presented to them by the governor and mayor of guess where with help from the entire city council and the globies own favored watchdog, one samuel tyler. ya don't think sizeable campaign contributions from mr. kelly to guess which governor and mayor helped that decision do you? ma
So not only does my premium help cover their pay packages, but my tax dollars too...so they get us coming and going, I will be soon changing my insurance company and I'm going to start looking at what other companies that I do business with that I can personally divest from.
Brian!.....Please! Could you at least wait untii after the breakfast hour to discuss this subject? For cripes sake, I almost choked on my dog bone hearing more about the Liberty Mutual Pig-Sty and its denizens.
And who is their favorite son: http://mrlibertymutual.com/?p=1872 For good reason--the good Senator made sure regulations were softened to enrich this company with no compelling reason.
Now let's look at their tax returns. And let's not just throw around patisan attacks. I think there is enough mud to go around. Let's just get some facts. The end result is that they will probably pull up stakes and move to Delaware or some other backwater. Loyalty and decency do not seem to be in their lexicon. And don't tell me about their charitable endeavors. They are just tax break cover-ups and seats to luxury boxes at Fenway or Patriot Place. Who raised these people?
This is truly a worthy story in the tradition of that almost-departed custom - good, empirical, investigative journalism. While I'm somewhat relieved knowing that I'm not a Liberty Mutual customer, I have no doubt but that the greedy have their hands in my pockets 24/7, whether it's utility rates, tax codes, or scammed and siphoned charity dollars. It used to be that folks who lived in pretty houses, drove pretty cars, and had jet set lifestyles could inspire respect, and maybe even jealousy. Now those spoils of life only trigger one question, how did those people rig the system and get their hands in my wallet?
Keep up the good work. Part of the reason investigative journalism is almost dead is that there's not enough money to pay good, honest journalists a good honest salary, with so much of the money being sucked up into the vacuum of the greedy. Newspapers, magazines, and the entire infotainment industry has pulled away from tattling on the shadow thieves. One reason is that too often it is their owners and bosses. You're showing courage and persistence by holding these people to public accountability.
Crony capitalism at work. Excellent reporting, though I think it might be time to widen the net...as you move on to other things (LOL). How is this corruption possible? What's the tax rate paid on these absurd compensation packages? Who is making campaign contributions to whom, and how does that effect tax loopholes, favorable legislation, deregulation, and so on? What connections might be found to right-wing, industry funded "think tanks" and policy "experts" who tout policies that allow this level of wealth extraction from paying customers?
No doubt LM are people who give capitalism a bad name. Let's see just how hard Brian pulls on these threads and if he has the nerve to uncover the inevitable connection to our esteemed local poltical class. He does show promise. For example, by calling out Marian Heard, he dares to call attention to a cherished perk that many "community leaders" enjoy. I wonder how he got that past the editor and into the piece.
Thanks to Brian and The Globe for reporting on this issue. Agreed with those previously commenting that this is truly valuable reporting, to the extent that I hope The Globe will continue investing in this. It has the potential to be the most important story for Boston and Massachusetts since the globally powerful outing of the Catholic church's inner "workings" that was led by The Globe. It's only the press that can exert the kind of pressure that needs to be applied here; the kind of pressure that leads to neighbor-to-neighbor pressure and if necessary, personal ostracization. Maybe a good place to start is highlighting the question "who are these people?" that drive Massachusetts business and society in this incestuous manner, so that we can begin sneering at them versus applauding them for their participation at "charitable" events. Although I try to remain neutral and independent in my opinions on this board, it's also the reason I will personally favor and support voting for Elizabeth Warren over Scott Brown. Enough already!
Here is what the 'Occupiers' message should be: "On it goes, a system contrived and protected by a moneyed few, to nobody's advantage but their own." a.k.a. - Legal embezzlement.
Brian:
Keep up the good work and always read you first. I will be looking for a new carrier when my insurance runs out. What comes round, goes round. To think of all the hungry kids and families in our own country and the excessive money these people make is appalling.
Good work, Brian. Excellent reporting, evoking good comments from readers.
I guess we have to look to the state Office of Consumer Affairs & Business Regulation's Insurance Division, or the Attorney General (yeah, I know, good luck with that!), to rein in Liberty Mutual's abuse of its policyholders. But what about the politicians who have subsidized this corporate behemoth with taxpayer dollars? How do we awaken the voters to rein them in? Deval Patrick's economic development staff actually FALSIFIED Liberty Mutual's tax-break application (without even telling the company!), fabricating bigger "job-creation" promises to justify giving the company more state money. But when we line up at hearings to beg for our public transportation, he turns his pockets inside out: "Broke, folks, we're just broke." Mayor Menino does the same. He always has money, tens of millions a year, for his developer cronies, but for public services -- he's "Broke!" Please turn your spotlight on the elected officials -- they keep doing this to us because they can get away with it. Help us hold them accountable.
Indeed, let's run LM and all those greedy execs right out of Boston! Who do they think they are to pay their exec team more than the starting lineup of the Red Sox? Everyone knows that hitting a ball with a piece of wood is way more important than insuring a house or oil well, right? Of course LM execs should not be paid more than our stellar Congressional leaders, even though that bunch has led us into 14 TRILLIONS worth of debt, nah, the LM bunch turned a profit, for that, they should earn less than the crew in Washington.
What you are not being told about LM is that it is one heckuva company to work for, and not just as an executive. LM actually has a retirement plan for ALL the employees, not just a 401K. Try to find that benefit these days. LM has regularly paid a bonus to most of its employees for years, sharing those profits. That bonus can amount to tens of thousands of dollars to mid level employee. In Boston, LM has a cafeteria for employees that serves wonderful meals at a very good price.
But let's go after LM and get it out of Boston, that way lots of those Boston employees can either lose their jobs or transfer to another state and pay taxes elsewhere. That will really help Boston. We don't want all those well paid employees spending money in Mass, do we?
Better yet, everyone should cancel their insurance with LM, run the whole company right out of business. Punish ALL the employees, raise the unemployment rate and create less competition in the insurance industry. Very clever.
Ask yourself one question: Did YOU ever turn down a raise?
HistoryIsJustThat, why does the company need to leave Boston? Why can the executives and the board not simply take reasonable salaries, cut the jets and offer fair rates on insurance?
On another note, from the beginning of Barbara Anderson's war on property tax, I've said a better approach would be to examine insurance costs. At least with my property tax, I get yearly benefits. Thanks for a great investigative piece.
SingleVoice seems to be confused. LM is in bed with Menino and Patrick, not Scott Brown. One thing's for sure though; you can bet all those LM executives are Republicans. Democrats are too honest to take that kind of money. Just ask Bernie Madoff.
Nothing changes and thats what is truly sad. Government, both federal and state, do not hinder businesses as we're often told by both political parties, they enable this 'legalized embezzlement' (thanks ckbike). Well I guess I've got to start shopping around for a new insurer.
Almost makes me want to be a Democrat, until I look at all the abuses they have done in this state. Brian, just wondering who is connected to them in this state/city that led them to get that huge tax break? I keep hearing Scott Brown but I think we all know that isnt the case. Probable some shady Pol out thier making some cash off these guys on the side.
This is only a small part of the story. Why is Government split so obvious today? It's because American society is severely split economically. The sad part is, many have no clue which side of the split they're on due to spin and misdirecting obfuscation.
Nice job Brian.... Sequels rarely stand up to the original but this proves the exception...."Liberty Mutual, the investigative journalism gift that keeps on giving" Perhaps their ad agency can work a whole campaign around that one.
Is this rabble rousing coming from the Times, the Globe, or just Brian?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I see many more comments than usual all cheering him on so I know the parochial locals are all worked up about something.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Is it really that, "The Boston Red Sox...pays the starting lineup less per year than Liberty Mutual's favorite nine."?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
My take is that Brian and the gang are "after" Liberty Mutual -- what, are they just doing business, but not following the wishes (and kissing the you-know-whats) of the local power brokers?
May I suggest a joint follow-up with reporters covering the business section for a next step in this story. These comp packages can be directly placed at the feet of the board and their failure to act responsibly. By all accounts they failed in their responsibilities to look out for the interests of the policy holders who are the "share holders" in a mutual company structure. Question 1- Which board member(s) represents the voice of the policy holder? It doesn't take a Harvard MBA to know how to measure comp packages relative to peer company competitors. Any freshman in college can get this information: Who does LM compete with? where does LM rank in size relative to its competitors? What type of comp packages are paid by LM competitors? Using standard industry and financial metrics, how has LM performed relative to its competitors during Kelly's tenure? Answers to these questions would quickly determine Kelly's worth.
Great, great story Brian. Many people outside of insurance do not understand the mutual structure which really makes these payouts even more obscene. One of the interesting things about Liberty is how they have grown over the years. They have generally under-reserved their insurance liabilities, thus presenting a stronger balance sheet and allowing them to buy perceived 'weaker' companies forced to sell because their insurance reserves were correctly valued. This is where many of these State insurance departments are simply out-gunned by the likes of the rascals you have brought out into the light. Thank you.
Comments
and still not one bloody word from the pen and quill winner on how an entity like liberty nutual managed to get a $46.5 million dollar tax subsidy presented to them by the governor and mayor of guess where with help from the entire city council and the globies own favored watchdog, one samuel tyler. ya don't think sizeable campaign contributions from mr. kelly to guess which governor and mayor helped that decision do you? ma
So not only does my premium help cover their pay packages, but my tax dollars too...so they get us coming and going, I will be soon changing my insurance company and I'm going to start looking at what other companies that I do business with that I can personally divest from.
Brian!.....Please! Could you at least wait untii after the breakfast hour to discuss this subject? For cripes sake, I almost choked on my dog bone hearing more about the Liberty Mutual Pig-Sty and its denizens.
And who is their favorite son: http://mrlibertymutual.com/?p=1872 For good reason--the good Senator made sure regulations were softened to enrich this company with no compelling reason.
Imagine that pay for an insurance company. What a joke.
Now let's look at their tax returns. And let's not just throw around patisan attacks. I think there is enough mud to go around. Let's just get some facts. The end result is that they will probably pull up stakes and move to Delaware or some other backwater. Loyalty and decency do not seem to be in their lexicon. And don't tell me about their charitable endeavors. They are just tax break cover-ups and seats to luxury boxes at Fenway or Patriot Place. Who raised these people?
This is truly a worthy story in the tradition of that almost-departed custom - good, empirical, investigative journalism. While I'm somewhat relieved knowing that I'm not a Liberty Mutual customer, I have no doubt but that the greedy have their hands in my pockets 24/7, whether it's utility rates, tax codes, or scammed and siphoned charity dollars. It used to be that folks who lived in pretty houses, drove pretty cars, and had jet set lifestyles could inspire respect, and maybe even jealousy. Now those spoils of life only trigger one question, how did those people rig the system and get their hands in my wallet? Keep up the good work. Part of the reason investigative journalism is almost dead is that there's not enough money to pay good, honest journalists a good honest salary, with so much of the money being sucked up into the vacuum of the greedy. Newspapers, magazines, and the entire infotainment industry has pulled away from tattling on the shadow thieves. One reason is that too often it is their owners and bosses. You're showing courage and persistence by holding these people to public accountability.
Crony capitalism at work. Excellent reporting, though I think it might be time to widen the net...as you move on to other things (LOL). How is this corruption possible? What's the tax rate paid on these absurd compensation packages? Who is making campaign contributions to whom, and how does that effect tax loopholes, favorable legislation, deregulation, and so on? What connections might be found to right-wing, industry funded "think tanks" and policy "experts" who tout policies that allow this level of wealth extraction from paying customers?
No doubt LM are people who give capitalism a bad name. Let's see just how hard Brian pulls on these threads and if he has the nerve to uncover the inevitable connection to our esteemed local poltical class. He does show promise. For example, by calling out Marian Heard, he dares to call attention to a cherished perk that many "community leaders" enjoy. I wonder how he got that past the editor and into the piece.
Thanks to Brian and The Globe for reporting on this issue. Agreed with those previously commenting that this is truly valuable reporting, to the extent that I hope The Globe will continue investing in this. It has the potential to be the most important story for Boston and Massachusetts since the globally powerful outing of the Catholic church's inner "workings" that was led by The Globe. It's only the press that can exert the kind of pressure that needs to be applied here; the kind of pressure that leads to neighbor-to-neighbor pressure and if necessary, personal ostracization. Maybe a good place to start is highlighting the question "who are these people?" that drive Massachusetts business and society in this incestuous manner, so that we can begin sneering at them versus applauding them for their participation at "charitable" events. Although I try to remain neutral and independent in my opinions on this board, it's also the reason I will personally favor and support voting for Elizabeth Warren over Scott Brown. Enough already!
Here is what the 'Occupiers' message should be: "On it goes, a system contrived and protected by a moneyed few, to nobody's advantage but their own." a.k.a. - Legal embezzlement.
Brian: Keep up the good work and always read you first. I will be looking for a new carrier when my insurance runs out. What comes round, goes round. To think of all the hungry kids and families in our own country and the excessive money these people make is appalling.
Good work, Brian. Excellent reporting, evoking good comments from readers. I guess we have to look to the state Office of Consumer Affairs & Business Regulation's Insurance Division, or the Attorney General (yeah, I know, good luck with that!), to rein in Liberty Mutual's abuse of its policyholders. But what about the politicians who have subsidized this corporate behemoth with taxpayer dollars? How do we awaken the voters to rein them in? Deval Patrick's economic development staff actually FALSIFIED Liberty Mutual's tax-break application (without even telling the company!), fabricating bigger "job-creation" promises to justify giving the company more state money. But when we line up at hearings to beg for our public transportation, he turns his pockets inside out: "Broke, folks, we're just broke." Mayor Menino does the same. He always has money, tens of millions a year, for his developer cronies, but for public services -- he's "Broke!" Please turn your spotlight on the elected officials -- they keep doing this to us because they can get away with it. Help us hold them accountable.
Indeed, let's run LM and all those greedy execs right out of Boston! Who do they think they are to pay their exec team more than the starting lineup of the Red Sox? Everyone knows that hitting a ball with a piece of wood is way more important than insuring a house or oil well, right? Of course LM execs should not be paid more than our stellar Congressional leaders, even though that bunch has led us into 14 TRILLIONS worth of debt, nah, the LM bunch turned a profit, for that, they should earn less than the crew in Washington. What you are not being told about LM is that it is one heckuva company to work for, and not just as an executive. LM actually has a retirement plan for ALL the employees, not just a 401K. Try to find that benefit these days. LM has regularly paid a bonus to most of its employees for years, sharing those profits. That bonus can amount to tens of thousands of dollars to mid level employee. In Boston, LM has a cafeteria for employees that serves wonderful meals at a very good price. But let's go after LM and get it out of Boston, that way lots of those Boston employees can either lose their jobs or transfer to another state and pay taxes elsewhere. That will really help Boston. We don't want all those well paid employees spending money in Mass, do we? Better yet, everyone should cancel their insurance with LM, run the whole company right out of business. Punish ALL the employees, raise the unemployment rate and create less competition in the insurance industry. Very clever. Ask yourself one question: Did YOU ever turn down a raise?
HistoryIsJustThat, why does the company need to leave Boston? Why can the executives and the board not simply take reasonable salaries, cut the jets and offer fair rates on insurance? On another note, from the beginning of Barbara Anderson's war on property tax, I've said a better approach would be to examine insurance costs. At least with my property tax, I get yearly benefits. Thanks for a great investigative piece.
SingleVoice seems to be confused. LM is in bed with Menino and Patrick, not Scott Brown. One thing's for sure though; you can bet all those LM executives are Republicans. Democrats are too honest to take that kind of money. Just ask Bernie Madoff.
Nothing changes and thats what is truly sad. Government, both federal and state, do not hinder businesses as we're often told by both political parties, they enable this 'legalized embezzlement' (thanks ckbike). Well I guess I've got to start shopping around for a new insurer.
Almost makes me want to be a Democrat, until I look at all the abuses they have done in this state. Brian, just wondering who is connected to them in this state/city that led them to get that huge tax break? I keep hearing Scott Brown but I think we all know that isnt the case. Probable some shady Pol out thier making some cash off these guys on the side.
This is only a small part of the story. Why is Government split so obvious today? It's because American society is severely split economically. The sad part is, many have no clue which side of the split they're on due to spin and misdirecting obfuscation.
Nice job Brian.... Sequels rarely stand up to the original but this proves the exception...."Liberty Mutual, the investigative journalism gift that keeps on giving" Perhaps their ad agency can work a whole campaign around that one.
Is this rabble rousing coming from the Times, the Globe, or just Brian? >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I see many more comments than usual all cheering him on so I know the parochial locals are all worked up about something. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Is it really that, "The Boston Red Sox...pays the starting lineup less per year than Liberty Mutual's favorite nine."? >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> My take is that Brian and the gang are "after" Liberty Mutual -- what, are they just doing business, but not following the wishes (and kissing the you-know-whats) of the local power brokers?
This "campaign" is making the Globe look buffoonish.
Brian, Thank you. This story MUST become a full investigation of all the people-including government-who are involved in this scheme of robbery.
May I suggest a joint follow-up with reporters covering the business section for a next step in this story. These comp packages can be directly placed at the feet of the board and their failure to act responsibly. By all accounts they failed in their responsibilities to look out for the interests of the policy holders who are the "share holders" in a mutual company structure. Question 1- Which board member(s) represents the voice of the policy holder? It doesn't take a Harvard MBA to know how to measure comp packages relative to peer company competitors. Any freshman in college can get this information: Who does LM compete with? where does LM rank in size relative to its competitors? What type of comp packages are paid by LM competitors? Using standard industry and financial metrics, how has LM performed relative to its competitors during Kelly's tenure? Answers to these questions would quickly determine Kelly's worth.
Great, great story Brian. Many people outside of insurance do not understand the mutual structure which really makes these payouts even more obscene. One of the interesting things about Liberty is how they have grown over the years. They have generally under-reserved their insurance liabilities, thus presenting a stronger balance sheet and allowing them to buy perceived 'weaker' companies forced to sell because their insurance reserves were correctly valued. This is where many of these State insurance departments are simply out-gunned by the likes of the rascals you have brought out into the light. Thank you.