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My reading of the OP was there is no evidence of government supported monopolies being hostile to consumers, the top two example you seem to agree with me that
by will_brown 8y ago
My reading of the OP was there is no evidence of government supported monopolies being hostile to consumers, the top two example you seem to agree with me that these government supported monopolies are hostile to consumers. As you say if we open up water to competition, as many as possible can immeenient domain a pipe into my house. I could have 1,000 water pipes from 1,000 companies sticking out of my wall and I have no say.. that seems hostile.
I don’t think you can just imagine some magical road that allows for unlimited pipes and electric to run through it that just accommodates more competition without real hostility to consumers.
The military doesn’t “use” stadiums they form partnerships with the NFL and pay to advertise...the military isn’t helping protect the NFL monopoly the way OP says. And not all stadiums are build by the cities or tax payer funds. But in my case they did, admittedly, but again it can be argued they are hosilte (pricing out the local fans, while the stadium sits half empty).
I think you missed the part about OP claiming these State backed monopolies aren’t hostile to consumers (or I completely misunderstood this part of the post)...as your post seems to concur with mine, they are sometime hostile.
- pitaj 8y ago> My reading of the OP was there is no evidence of government supported monopolies being hostile to consumers Which OP are you referring to? > As you say if we open up water to competition, as many as possible can immeenient domain a pipe into my house. I could have 1,000 water pipes from 1,000 companies sticking out of my wall and I have no say.. that seems hostile. I don't think that would actually happen of course. Nor do I think eminent domain is a valid power of the State. My point was that this already happens. I think a much better system could spontaneously exist when the market is involved. An example is given by WalterBright: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18536896 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18536896 > I don’t think you can just imagine some magical road that allows for unlimited pipes and electric to run through it that just accommodates more competition without real hostility to consumers. Obviously, scarcity is a thing. Unlimited competition isn't possible. I'd say 2-6 competitors is about right, depending on your situation. > The military doesn’t “use” stadiums they form partnerships with the NFL and pay to advertise...the military isn’t helping protect the NFL monopoly the way OP says. My point was that the military is a large source of NFL funding, but I shouldn't have even brought that up. It's entirely unnecessary, because the NFL isn't a monopoly. Sports entertainment is a super competitive arena, with multiple sports and multiple levels per sport, including college football. > And not all stadiums are build by the cities or tax payer funds. Sure, but regardless my point that they get huge subsidies from governments stands. > missed the part about OP claiming these State backed monopolies aren’t hostile to consumers I'm not sure who you're referring to by OP, but my position is that state-backed monopolies are the only ones which can be hostile to consumers. Otherwise, the hostility is just opportunity for competitors.