This is (edited to - regulatory capture. I had mentioned capitalism; I only mean we want consumers to figure out what choices they have and exercise them. But a

This is (edited to - regulatory capture. I had mentioned capitalism; I only mean we want consumers to figure out what choices they have and exercise them. But as mentioned below, when there's power, like in a monopoly, that power needs to restricted or removed i.e. by government or if at all possible, meaningful competition.) Here is your recourse: Try to become and remain among the educated. If you are in a position to do so, educate others. Vote with your wallet. This, by itself, is not enough. The masses need to be educated and make this vote meaningful. When the ones in power play dirty, try to remove that power or restrict their ability to play dirty. Our biggest, most profitable companies seem to increasingly have the ability to influence consumers with underhanded, manipulative means. In that scenario, there isn't enough educated consumer power to effect change. This morning, I was thinking about Google, and how I personally feel like they have some of the absolute worst customer support in the world for many products. Because they will not fail to profit because a few hundred thousand people are unhappy with one of their services. Likewise, the cable companies can anger customers, but continue to profit, as long as they have some kind of power to reap those profits, such as being the only option in an area, or the only (or most direct) way to see certain content, such as live sports or broadcasts. There's definitely a difference in the analogy above - Google makes most of their money not from consumers, but from businesses wishing to advertise. Anyway, I think cable companies will get worse as long as they are mixing pipelines and content subscriptions, and certainly as long as they hold the keys to the single wire bringing all of your entertainment into your home.