October 7, 2009

46% of JohnsonDiversey sold for $477 million;
'Johnson' will disappear from company's name

Major changes came to SC Johnson's JohnsonDiversey Inc. today and, to be perfectly honest, we're not sure we understand all of them.

Here's what we do know:
  • Clayton Dubilier & Rice bought a 46% share of the company for $477 million.
  • The 'Johnson' part of the name is being dropped.
  • The Johnson family retains 50% ownership.
Some of the other portions of the story, gleaned from early web postings from London, Racine and New York include:
JohnsonDiversey has 800 employees in Racine, 2,000 in the U.S. and 10,800 worldwide. (Three years ago, the company had 1,000 employees here and 13,500 worldwide.) Company spokesman John Matthews said, "We don't expect any employment changes as a result of this transaction. We have announced plans to invest in a new manufacturing plant in the Racine area, which will retain our current 80 manufacturing employees here." That plant, moving production from Waxdale, will be located at or near the distribution center built two years ago off Highway 20 near the Renaissance Building Park.

To learn more, and to see what Curtis Johson has to say about "this exciting development in the evolution of our company," check the links above. A short video with Johnson -- "This is a new phase, leveraging the foundation that we've built" -- and Ed Lonergan, JohnsonDiversey President and CEO, is HERE.

In 2006, JohnsonDiversey sold its Johnson Polymer subsidiary to BASF for $470 million.

96 comments:

  1. Let me go sniff some Pledge, I don't get it yet.

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  2. Looks like we are shooting for 30% unemployment shortly. Keep up the good work government!

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  3. They received a capital infusion to acquire another company?

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  4. Where is Mr Angry when we need some good entertainment?
    I would think that this announcement would excite him. Actually, I would think that he must be foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog.

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  5. Do I hear the fat lady going through her throat exercises?

    'Capital infusion' or cash out? The elimination of the Johnson name should be clue number one.

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  6. One corporate porker bit another corporate porker. Pig deal!

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  7. You'll observe that even though the scam-ily monicker has vanished from the company's name, a Wax-brat remains in charge. Pigs are pigs whatever you may call them.

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  8. Oink and other salutations of the season!

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  9. Maybe the Wax-brats needed to buy more fiberglass cows for Mater.

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  10. Perhaps they're in the mood for more modern art. That garbage costs money galore.

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  11. Will our mock Medicis use the loot to purchase additional Nic Noblique sculptures?

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  12. Who knows? Maybe the Wax-Mom wants to fund a really big community art project: life size fiberglass elephants, whales and dinosaurs.

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  13. How about gigantic toy helicopters? Or maybe she'll hire established high-fee artists to decorate some REAL HELICOPTERS and have professional pilots fly them over downtown Racine.

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  14. One thing we do know for sure--the Waxies won't spend the money on anything that will benefit our rank-and-file citizens!

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  15. Yes, you can always trust "The Family" to be "The Scam-ily"!

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  16. It's sad but true--Waxies, like cats, care only about themselves.

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  17. That's why they're billionaires. Anyone with a heart would have given away the nucleus of that fortune back in the thirties.Selfishness and viciousness toward vulnerable people are the earmarks of a successful capitalist.

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  18. Curt Johnson in 2002, when Johnson Professional acquired Diversey:
    "Every great company has its turning points," he told employees and dignitaries Monday. "This acquisition represents one of those moments in our history."

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  19. Sam would say the goodwill of the people is the only enduring thing in business, the rest is just shadow.

    This is a very sad day. I am sure Sam is turning over and this is all just the start. The "family" has lost their compass.

    Maybe if Strutevant would give a $6million tax break to JohnsonDiversey like the City of Racine gave to SCJ, it too could have stayed in business. Just another case of the rich Johnson family looking out for themselves and forgetting about the goodwill of the people enduring.

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  20. The famous profit sharing speech said "the goodwill of the people is the only enduring thing; it is the sole substance. The rest is shadow."

    Curt, After what you have done to this company,and to ex-Johnson employees all you have left is shadow.

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  21. Sam is sitting next to God right now, looking down on Curt saying
    " Forgive him Lord, for he knows not what he does"

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  22. Although God and Sam may forgive that bad Waxboy, his victims won't.Coming soon: disgusted victims of capitalist greed who'll vote for men who'll make Obama resemble Ronald Reagan.

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  23. Through their banal, brainless greed, some of Sam's heirs may accomplish what myriads of Marxists failed to achieve--the destruction of corporate capitalism.

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  24. God speed the dsy!

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  25. Whoops--I meant "God speed the day!"

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  26. Alas, capitalism has inflicted so much pain on the majority of our people, that they're learning to hate it. All the propaganda from Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh won't con them into supporting a system responsible for outsourced jobs, falling or stagnant incomes and foreclosures.

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  27. A system in which one Wax-brat hoards billions while ordinary citizens go without the basics and the bucks to buy them can't last too much longer. One way or another, the common man and woman will destroy it.

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  28. This doesn't come as a surprise. The Johnson children have always come across as being more interested in money than the companies or employees they inherited. I would guess it is only a matter of time before SCJ begins to sell off their brands one at a time. Anyone want to make a bet which brand goes first? (No, you can't guess Edge since it already sold)

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  29. Maybe its time for them to make another major purchase for their core company SCJ like they did with Drackett about ten years ago and pay in cash again?

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  30. No, it's time for the common man to demand a fair share of our nation's wealth and elect men who'll make our current crop of Democrats look like the American Enterprise Institute. Nationalize all industries now!

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  31. Does anyone believe it was an accident that Sam Johnson was able to grow SCJ (and in turn the family wealth) in excess of four times over what he originally inherited from his dad.

    It wasn't a mistake and it wasn't an accident. Sam Johnson cared about others, his employees, his customers, the community. In fact, I think he may in many cases have cared more about those things than his personal wealth. Look what happened to Sam when he cared more about his employees and community, a great deal of abundance came right back to him. Sam gave loyalty and in return he got even more.

    Sam was a great man, but the one area he did fail was teaching his kids the values he held. It has been shown time and time again with Curt, and it is becoming more and more clear with Fisk and Helen that the "family" has lost the values that Sam had and that historically the company had.

    Greed, greed and more greed is what we are seeing from the family. Look at history, time and time again, when you give a little, you get more in return. I hope the wax kids learn this lesson before it is to late. Slowly, but surely, as time passes all the goodwill that Sam and the Johnson's before him built is being destroyed by the newest generation. So very, very sad for Racine and as a story of our society.

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  32. The problem with the current generation "all inclusive" is none of them had to do anything for themselves.
    They treat the subcontractor (temp)employees like garbage.
    They are squeezing every penny out of every avenue they have.
    They hire and fire based on what cuts the Managers can find in the company.
    It is quite laughable if it wasn`t so sad.
    Name anything any of them have done on their own?
    One daughter does do charity focused tasks, but it would not be hard to do that if everything you have was given to you.
    She at least has some morality.
    When they demand respect...they earn contempt.
    Although I am surprised they have lasted this many generations..typically the third generation is the one who ruins a family run business.
    IMHO

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  33. The most frightening thing about this story is the reponse and ignorance of the people posting here.

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  34. No, the most frightening thing is the misuse of wealth and power by the corrupt dynasty responsible for most of the misery in our community.

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  35. Johnsons: too many dollars and not enough sense.

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  36. Companies which are "too big to fail"--trouble. Dynasties whose kids are too big for their britches--the source of trouble. The Taxman should take our unholy trinity of resident Waxbrats to the woodshed now!

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  37. Needed: laws and lawmen to rein in the corporate crime families.

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  38. Maybe if we're lucky the Taxman will make all the oligarchic oppressors disappear. Perhaps Alcatraz should be reopened as an exclusive facility for billionaires.

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  39. Sam: a man. Sons (and one daughter) of Sam: monsters.

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  40. These comments are unbelievable. What bitter, negative people.
    The Johnsons give an incredible amount to this community. They easily could have pulled manufacturing out and gone many other places in the world - saving tens of millions a year, but they don't because they want to support Racine. As someone who knows Fisk and Helen, I can attest they both care very much about the community and are always looking for ways to give back to this community and communities in which the company operates around the world. How about looking for the positives instead of being so toxic?

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  41. Dear 8:23 P.M., It's clear that you're a class brother/sister of our local treasure tyrants, who do very little for the ordinary citizens of this corrupt company town. Art, architecture and ballyhoo derived from Frank Lloyd Wright's elitist ideology are of no use to people who require practical assistance. If Helen wants to help the rest of us, she can make her bankers stop seizing poor seniors' homes. Assuming Fisk desires to do a good deed, he can renounce those totally-unjustifiable property tax deductions he and Becker obtained from Doyle. For your own protection, wise up and see what the House of Wax actually is-- a selfish dollar-sign dynasty dedicated to nothing but the augmentation of its wealth. If sacrificing you (or anyone else) would bring the Waxies an extra buck, they'd do it in a second.

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  42. Waxbrats: riches...rapacity...ruination.

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  43. Dear 8:23 P.M., Do you have any conception of the poverty, misery and despair here in Rat-Scene? None of the above happened by accident. A certain arrogant kleptoplutocratic clan's ruthless pursuit of pelf is why our people cry. Capitalism and its selfish, individualistic proponents brought us this pain--socialism coupled with humanitarian leadership shall end it.

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  44. It will be a good day in Racine when the Waxstash melts into the Federal Treasury and the people's government rather than the oligarchy provides society's victims with their livelihood.

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  45. Who knows? Perhaps Helen will have to earn her living. Maybe she'll be able to peddle fragments of that chunk of the Berlin Wall which she and her hyperprivileged consort currently own.

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  46. Johnsons--yesterday: good will...today: ill will...tomorrow: NO WILL (After the people's government seizes their assets, the Waxies won't need any trust documents or testaments.)

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  47. Johnsons: big checks for museums and the zoo,/ but zilch for the poor. That's what Waxies do.

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  48. TAX THE WAX!

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  49. Waxstash: It came from waxes. / It will go for taxes./Pray that Waxies' throats/ won't be cut by axes. A system in which too few have too much while the rest have next to nothing is doomed to destruction. Let's hope that the coming people's government may use peaceful, non-violent methods ONLY.

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  50. Dynasties:Dinosaurs. We know what happened to those critters, don't we?

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  51. If the oligarchs don't want to wind up as some of history's roadkill like the Romanovs, they'd better start accepting higher taxes to fund social programs for the non-privileged majority of our citizens. Though dynamic, innovative economic systems may be fun for the rich, they're hell for the rest. Free enterprise has had its day in America. Looking at the poverty and misery around us, we can see what it has brought to most of our people. Many of us don't want it here anymore. The same also applies to the predatory elite which inflicted it on our people. If they wish to remain here and function on American soil, they'll need to accept wealth caps and other measures to guarantee a more equitable distribution of our country's resources.

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  52. Some of us would like to see the Waxies' birth certificates. Since quite a few of them act like medieval monarchs or renaissance merchant princes from distant lands, we'd like to know for sure when and where they entered the world.

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  53. Maybe they're vampires who go back centuries. After all, the Waxies are corporate leeches who batten on the workers' blood.

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  54. The temps I know say that our "vampires" require a stake in the future. However, as a pacifist, I'll be content with confiscation of their assets or nationalization of their companies.

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  55. Dear 10/10/2009, 8:23 P.M., The "toxic" stuff in Racine isn't the ordinary man's attitude toward his exploiters. Rather, the exploitation and those who perpetrate it are "toxic." It's ironic that a corporate crime family which excels at the manufacture and distribution of environmentally-safe products also specializes in socially-poisonous elitism and dubious labor practices.

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  56. One thing they could do to help improve the local economy, hire more people from Racine. There are plenty of talented people already here in town.

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  57. True. However, the Waxbrats are graduates of Corny-Hell Looney-Perversity and, hence, dote on Ivy Leaguers. Until a people's government knocks the elitism out of the Waxies and their kin, they'll continue to ignore us local yokels.

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  58. Yup, Waxies are xenophiles. They like foreign-born or non-local talent for their executive staff and--rumor has it--cheap, illegal alien labor obtained via temp agencies for their pool of low-wage slaveys.

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  59. IF we had a planned economy (like the economies of Western European nations) we wouldn't have to worry about the wicked Waxies and their whims.

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  60. Newsflash: Fisk Johnson just gave a speech at Cornell in which he said that Americans should adopt a less materialistic lifestyle. In view of his property tax dodging and his clan's cushy modus vivendi, Fisk is hardly an exemplary role model.

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  61. Amen! If Fisk Johnson wants to set a good example, he should renounce his totally-unjustified property tax exemptions. Furthermore, if the Waxies desire to be seen as philanthropists, they ought to do charity work to help our less fortunate citizens and cut back on their arty activities. Racine isn't Renaissance Florence and the Johnsons aren't the Medicis.

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  62. Frankly, it's a blessing that the Johnsons AREN'T the Medicis. Contrary to Franz Johanson's propaganda in his book "The Medici Effect," the Medicis of Florence were pure evil. Anyone who doubts this should read Caroline P. Murphy's "Murder of a Medici Princess" (Oxford,UK:Oxford University Press, 2009). Every businessman who's shelled out cash for "The Medici Effect" ought to demand the prompt return of his money!

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  63. Whoops! I didn't spell the pro-Medici writer's name correctly: it's Frans Johansson. Orthography aside,the Medicis were terrible role models.Usury, child labor, exploitation of the poor, incest and murder were Medici specialties. If there's one dirty dynasty the Johnsons shouldn't emulate, it's the dead-and-damned Medicis.

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  64. I hope the Johnsons will reconsider their plans for Uptown. Racine needs practical help for its poor citizens, not an art colony.

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  65. You people have seen nothing yet. Wait until the truth about the Wax Company's Federal Tax Fraud comes out. That company defrauded the Federal government of over $7 million dollars. The time is coming that the entire community will know what that company did. When the truth is out, it is going to be hard for the company to say "they do the right thing". In a pay to play scheme with Becker, SCJ got over a $6 million dollar property tax exemption from the City of Racine. It is a shame that a profitable company should get a $6 millin dollar tax break when oridinary Racine residents are losing their home to Johnson Bank and cannot afford to pay their own property tax bills. What the people need to rise up about NOW is that the Property Tax Exemption on Project Honor could indeed be repealed. YES, the exemption could be reversed!! In fact, I know a Racine City alderman was told how to repeal the exemption and get the $6 million back to the City, but the alderman said "there does not seem to be the political will to take on SC Johnson". I was also told that the Mayor of the City of Racine knows that the exemption could be repealed, but he has decide to do nothing. It seems all the elected officials are afraid to take on SCJ even when it means putting more than $6 million back into the city coffers.

    All the talk on here about over throwing capitalism maybe true, but you need to start at home first. Elect officials that are going to "do the right thing". It is very clear that SCJ as a company talks that talk, but totally fails the walk about "doing the right thing".

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  66. Someday the wicked Waxtrash will walk the walk--the perp walk, that is. Once they're locked up and divested of their loot, they won't be able to harm anyone again. God speed the day!

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  67. Needed: municipal and county officials who aren't afraid to take on SCJ.

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  68. Project Honor? Profound Dishonor would be closer.

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  69. Project Honor? Profound Dishonor would be closer.

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  70. Send the rich thieves to Wax-jail!

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  71. When the Waxies march off to the pen, Fisk can give another of his speeches about the joys of austere, simple living minus luxuries and unnecessary possessions. Let's hope the warden and the correctional officers make sure that Fisk practices what he preaches.

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  72. Right before the French Revolution of 1789 erupted, Marie Antoinette and her clique were big on pretending to be peasants and telling the people to live simply. Fisk's speeches about the pleasures of a modest lifestyle are in the same hypocritical league with Marie Antoinette's little pose. Last week Fisk orated eloquently and excoriated conspicuous consumption. Someday we'll hear a different speech when the government grounds his private planes, grabs his fancy cars and makes him walk the walk.

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  73. Tell the government not to forget Fisk's sailboats!

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  74. Hope Fisk will enjoy the simple life waiting for him in the slammer.

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  75. Poor baby! Fisk won't have his flying machines. Maybe the warden will let him play with model planes.

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  76. Joking aside, the whole corporate class should be incarcerated for its crimes against humanity.

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  77. Amen! Let's never forget which class inflicted the current economic crisis on the rest of us. Men who build companies and banks which are "too big to fail" need to meet something bigger and stronger than their firms, something capable of teaching them a lesson--the people's government! I won't cry when the plutocrats' stashes vanish into the U.S. Treasury and the ex-oligarchs disappear into oblivion as inmates of federal pens.

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  78. Someday, after we've elected a people's government, we won't have to fret about corporate porkers and their caprices.

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  79. God speed the day!

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  80. A people's government answerable to the citizens through frequent and honest elections should manage the nation's wealth. Letting private sector predators control it is tantamount to putting foxes in charge of the henhouse.

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  81. Here's hoping the government catches all the fiscal foxes and puts them in the zoo.

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  82. Hmmm. After the people's courts have tried and convicted the Wax-wombats, maybe they should travel to the pen in circus wagons of the type formerly used to transport dangerous wild animals.

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  83. Perhaps we should put them on display at the real zoo. Can't you just envision the exhibit together with a sign telling visitors not to feed the Waxies?

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  84. That's right. Only the zookeepers--suitably clad as butlers--will be allowed to serve the Waxies their caviar, brie and fins vins.

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  85. Then, following their did-din, the Waxies will clean their exhibit area using their own environmentally-friendly products.

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  86. What? No maids?

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  87. Since the Waxies like to keep fit and demonstrate their products, they'll maintain their new home.

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  88. Maybe during the special "ani-moolah encounters," the Waxies will throw rolls of toilet paper at the audience. After all, that's what Fisk did last week at Cornell.

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  89. Nope. In keeping with the name of these events ("ani-moolah encounters"), the domesticated Waxies will toss money at the spectators.

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  90. Soon the Waxies will become the zoo's most popular critters.

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  91. They'll be the REAL "Pride of Racine"!

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  92. Seriously, some of our Waxies some of the time seem to have forgotten their patriarch Sam's great lessons about the need to accept civic obligations and contribute to the community. Also, Sam understood that constructive capitalists should do philanthropic work which ordinary people understand and appreciate. He knew that although art and architecture are fine in their place, feeding and sheltering the poor must take priority. Let's hope that Sam's kids implement the charitable concepts which he and Gene endeavored to teach them.

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  93. Assuming they do the right thing, our Waxies won't have to go to the zoo unless they're dedicating a new Wax-funded exhibit featuring REAL animals!

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  94. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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