It's a shame both parties have abandoned the quaint idea of Anti-Trust Anti-Monopoly Regulations

[Armstead]

Ever since the 1970's one of the central BUT IGNORED issues has been the consolidation of the economy into a handful of massive Corporate Empires.

At the root of this has been an almost complete lack of concern among politicians OF BOTH PARTIES and the public about the idea that one important role of government is to protect competition and prevent concentrations of power into huge business monopolies.

So over the last four decades we allowed an unending series of consolidations in a drip, drip drip of corporate mergers, takeovers, acquisitions and "partnerships" and all of the ramifications of that.

And today, the chickens have come home to roost. This consolidation is at the root of most of the problems that bedevil us, in almost any field you care to mention. Most people hate the chickens that have arrived.

Concentration of power. Wealth inequality. Lower wages, lost jobs and the decline of the middle and working class. Environmental damages. Political corruption. The lack of choice in many products and services. Too Big To Fail Banks. 2008. The Trashing Down of Media....A general feeling of powerless among average people.....ETC.

For example one of the dirty little secrets of Healthcare is that insurance companies have consolidated over the years, and that has accelerated. So regardless of how one feels about the basic concept of private insurance, the fact is that competition among insurers is becoming almost meaningless.

Don't like the media? Think they are stifling free speech and a diversity of views. That's because we allowed a handful of conglomerates to buy all of our information infrastructure.

And yet IT IS STILL GOING ON -- EVEN THOUGH THE EFFECTS ARE CLEAR AS DAY. We continue to allow mergers in almost every sector of the economy.



Optimistically, one hopes that as the critical mass of bullshit that has resulted from this Laissez-fair free market indifference to the growth of Corporate Monop0olizxation of the very fabric of life will lead to a reawakening of the kind of Anto-Monopoly actions that occurred in response to the previous Gilded Age.

Pessimistically, there seems to be little appetite in either party to actually do anything to reverse this, and restore an actual competitive economy again.

[justiceischeap]

1. I seem to recall things being much cheaper when those regulations were in place. nt

[Armstead]

2. Competition does have a purpose

[Armstead]

3. Woody Allen

This needs a little :kick:

[Armstead]

4. Nobody cares about this?

[flying rabbit]

5. K&R

[Armstead]

6. This is depressing

Either people don't give a shit about this issue or I stated it badly...(or perhaps I've made it onto everyone's real or informal ignore list)

So I'll stop trying to raise this subject (maybe, at least for now)

So what do you think of Woody Allen anyway?

[Omnith]

7. Well I don't know about woody allen.

But as far as monopolies are concerned I think you're right. There is not a lot of money in fighting monopolies and that seems to be the motivation factor for most politicians.