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> examples such as a merger between local groceries being denied as one of many great examples of antitrust law getting in the way of healthy competition instea
by xurias 7y ago
> examples such as a merger between local groceries being denied as one of many great examples of antitrust law getting in the way of healthy competition instead of promoting it.
Maybe I need to read the book but I don't see it. Consolidation of supermarkets has clearly reduced competition in the US. A small handful of companies have cornered the market because the US government stopped using antitrust laws liberally.
I'm not sure what popularity has to do at all with economic issues.
- losvedir 7y agoGroceries are like the pinnacle example of capitalism and competition working well. Everyone loves grocery stores, and we have a wonderful product selection for very cheap prices! I don't know if we have just "a small handful of companies" or not, but it certainly doesn't work as a compelling example for me of an anti-trust problem.
- xurias 7y agoEverybody loves Amazon, doesn't mean they aren't horribly monopolistic and don't have widespread economic/social impact on certain classes of people.
- LanceH 7y agoWhat exactly does Amazon have a monopoly on? They are big and the easiest and most obvious to use and their prices are frequently good, but none of those are exclusively Amazon.
- ambicapter 7y ago> very cheap prices Citation needed on this one. Not my experience at all.
- fuzz4lyfe 7y ago20 pounds of rice, $8.48. [0](Just the first price I found online) At four servings per pound that is 80 servings at $0.106 each. Average yield of a rice plant, 10 grams.[1] 9071.85 grams of rice is 907 plants roughly. That's less than a cent to cultivate, grow, prepare, bag and ship a rice plant. Let alone maintain the store where it is sold and pay the workers who sell it to you. This is the miracle of the free market. What price do you suggest is more fair? [0]https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Long-Grain-Enriched-Rice-20-lb/10315883 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Long-Grain-Enriched-R... [1]https://www.quora.com/How-much-rice-does-1-plant-yield https://www.quora.com/How-much-rice-does-1-plant-yield
- JetSpiegel 7y agoDoes this include agricultural subsidies and environmental externalities? Does the shop uses below cost rice as loss leader?
- caseysoftware 7y ago> Maybe I need to read the book but I don't see it. Yes, that would be the point of reading the book. You can't argue with the reasoning if you don't know it.
- yhoneycomb 7y agoJust wanted to insertt myself into this convo to say you’re a dick and you make hacker news worse.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]