3 ms·

> Is it mere coincidence that neither party opposes the health-industrial complex, or the military-industrial complex? At the end of the day, if the government

by Aunche 5y ago

> Is it mere coincidence that neither party opposes the health-industrial complex, or the military-industrial complex? At the end of the day, if the government really wants to do something, corporations have no choice but to comply, like with the Sherman Antitrust Act or the lockdown during the pandemic. There's nothing stopping them from opposing the military-industrial complex or the health-industrial complex outside themselves. They just don't want to because neither would grant them any short term political benefits. Both parties share a hatred of Big Tech, but they still can't get anything done because they hate each other more than they hate Big Tech.

revolvingocelot 5y ago
Er, when's the last time the Sherman Antitrust Act got enforced? Given that last time, are there any modern corporations that would seem to deserve the antitrust treatment, but aren't getting it for some reason? How much are those corporations donating to Congress? Enforcement just doesn't happen because then the money train would stop. This ain't exactly parsimonious. You're going on about "political benefits", but why introduce additional complexities like that when the bribery uh lobbying er aggressive donation strategy is public knowledge, super obvious, and almost entirely bipartisan? [0][1] This doesn't even include Big Oil, Big Pharma, Big Ag, etc... It makes me uncomfortable, too, but pretending it's about politicking is just silly. [0] https://www.protocol.com/tech-company-pacs-2019-2020 https://www.protocol.com/tech-company-pacs-2019-2020 [1] This doesn't apply to the most recent presidential election. Note that most of the cash went to Democrats. I can't really blame them. My thesis is that big corps lobby the gummint in order to ensure Good Business; it's sensible that the big corps might realize that another term of Trump might be more disruptive than beneficial

by Aunche 5y ago

revolvingocelot 5y ago

Er, when's the last time the Sherman Antitrust Act got enforced? Given that last time, are there any modern corporations that would seem to deserve the antitrust treatment, but aren't getting it for some reason? How much are those corporations donating to Congress? Enforcement just doesn't happen because then the money train would stop. This ain't exactly parsimonious. You're going on about "political benefits", but why introduce additional complexities like that when the bribery uh lobbying er aggressive donation strategy is public knowledge, super obvious, and almost entirely bipartisan? [0][1] This doesn't even include Big Oil, Big Pharma, Big Ag, etc... It makes me uncomfortable, too, but pretending it's about politicking is just silly. [0] https://www.protocol.com/tech-company-pacs-2019-2020 https://www.protocol.com/tech-company-pacs-2019-2020 [1] This doesn't apply to the most recent presidential election. Note that most of the cash went to Democrats. I can't really blame them. My thesis is that big corps lobby the gummint in order to ensure Good Business; it's sensible that the big corps might realize that another term of Trump might be more disruptive than beneficial