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> He proposed on Twitter to make bulk discounting illegal for the entire US economy, on the theory that any kind of discounting is just predatory pricing. Is t
by maxsilver 6y ago
> He proposed on Twitter to make bulk discounting illegal for the entire US economy, on the theory that any kind of discounting is just predatory pricing.
Is this a real thing? I follow Stoller on Twitter, and have never heard him say anything like that. Just that predatory pricing is often snuck in under the guise of "discounting" (which is true).
He's definitely a centrist on economic policy, which turns a lot of people away (most Americans have never heard of a centrist view of any policy of any kind, and most Americans are far more conservative than they'd ever actually admit to). But nothing about him seems ideologue-ish, and he's certainly not anywhere near left-wing on economic policy.
- greenonions 6y agoCould you provide any example where discounting was actually proved to be predatory pricing? How is discounting not a valid method of pricing?
- maxsilver 6y agoFlooding a market with below-cost goods (or "discounts"), to drive out competitors so that you can generate a monopoly, is predatory pricing -- literally by textbook definition. It's also illegal, it is a direct violation of US federal anti-trust law. https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/competition-guidance/guide-antitrust-laws/single-firm-conduct/predatory-or-below-cost https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/competition-guidance/guide-a... No one is against "discounting" (as in, coupons for Cheerios, or discounts for bulk orders). But illegal predatory pricing is often passed through the economy under the disguise of "a discount", and it's correct for people to challenge that.
- greenonions 6y agoIt most certainly is illegal, but can you find a definitive example of such behavior? It's theoretically a highly illegal and unethical thing to do, but in reality, monopoly control of a market is highly unlikely.
- maxsilver 6y agoI mean, one textbook example of that behaviour is late-90's-Microsoft --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Microsoft_Corp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Microsoft_Cor.... Amazon's behaviour today is another example of it, but since we haven't really enforced any anti-trust laws in the past decade, it would be easy for someone to claim Amazon "doesn't count".
- hash872 6y agoI found 3 examples just using Twitter advanced search and 'discounts'. The second paragraph is just word games, I see this argument from the left a lot. The perspective of non-Americans on US internal economic policy is irrelevant as they can't vote here- he's a far leftist for the US, and that's all that matters. (Actually he would be on the Corbyn left even for Europe)
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]