Point taken. It's not what I remember of CA in the 90's, when I was an analyst at a consulting firm. They may have changed strategy in the later aughts. Or, I could be completely wrong.
As you say, it was the place where products went to die.
Never thought I'd be able to say this, but Broadcom has out-CA'd Computer Associates.
For those not familiar with CA, their model was to buy up failed enterprise software companies and milk the s@*t out of the licensing and support contracts, while spending next-to-nothing on development. Broadcom follows much the same model with steroids and protein powder.
CA failed, only after years of profitable rent-seeking. The same may happen to Broadcom, but it will take years. In the meantime the companies who depend on the software they control will pay a heavy price.
It was dumber than that. Governor Raimondo worked out a loan with the Fenway group that bought the franchise that would keep the team in Pawtucket. The speaker of the House wouldn’t let the bill come to a vote, so the deal died. (I don’t remember his name; I do remember he was from West Warwick.)