Privatizing Lincoln's grave
by David Atkins
If this isn't symbolic of what's wrong with America these days, I don't know what is:
StoneMor Partners, a Pennsylvania based cemetery company, has been quietly talking with Springfield Mayor Mike Houston and other top city officials about taking over management of Oak Ridge Cemetery.
Calling StoneMor “a good company,” Houston acknowledged Tuesday that he has spoken with no other firms about taking over cemetery operations. He has said that the city plans to issue a request for proposals aimed at soliciting bids to privatize Abraham Lincoln’s final resting place. The city council must approve any management deal.
StoneMor, which runs 277 cemeteries and 90 funeral homes in 28 states and Puerto Rico, is a publicly traded firm known for a relatively stable stock price and high dividends. Wall Street, however, is not entirely enthralled and considers the company’s debt less than investment grade.
Moody’s Investors Service last May attached a B3 rating to $175 million in bonds issued by StoneMor, meaning that analysts considered the company a high-risk, speculative investment. The issue, Moody’s said, was a high level of debt. The rating issued last spring was just one notch above junk-bond status.
The company that went public in 2004 has had both success and failures in taking over cemeteries in other states.
Unreal. When they write the dismayed histories of our little Gilded Age today, this will make a nice vignette.
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