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> The government needs to step in actively to keep a free market from collapsing into one of the natural end states. Which is what, exactly? The US is per capi
by wyager 2y ago
> The government needs to step in actively to keep a free market from collapsing into one of the natural end states.
Which is what, exactly? The US is per capita richer than almost all EU countries by a huge margin (with a few small exceptions mostly enabled by regulatory arbitrage targeting US money), so forgive me if I don't take your seething commentary about the US economic apparatus very seriously.
- gmueckl 2y agoAny free, unregulated market will eliminate competitors until they create an oligopoly or even a single monopoly. It's an immediate consequence of the rules of the market.
- wyager 2y agoDespite constant moaning about the US not engaging in monopoly-busting anymore, that doesn't actually seem to be a problem in practice. In reality, comparative advantage and specialization dynamics do not uniformly equilibrate on monopoly markets.
- unethical_ban 2y agoThe content of the article shows that it is still a problem. You think that landlords and food suppliers colluding to raise prices to just below the breaking point is not a problem?
- wyager 2y agoIt's not a "breaking point", it's the market rate. There's no landlord cartel; anyone can easily defect and lower their own prices. The entire food production and provision supply chain has razor-thin margins. If you're hyperfocusing on that industry, it's a sign that your heuristics are pointing you at the wrong things.
- unethical_ban 2y agoCartel price fixing is not "market rate" by any honest definition.
- emn13 2y agoOutright monopolistic pricing is also "the market rate". Frankly, virtually any price somebody is willing to pay is almost by definition "the market rate". It's a meaningless defense for an artificially high price.
- olalonde 2y agoThat's simply false. Name one unregulated market where this has occurred.
- plankers 2y agoThe U.S. before antitrust laws existed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Oil https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Oil https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnegie_Steel_Company https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnegie_Steel_Company https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Pacific_Railroad https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Pacific_Railroad
- olalonde 2y agoStandard Oil: Its monopoly was already crumbling before antitrust action. By 1911, market share had plunged from 90% to 64% as competitors like Gulf/Texaco emerged and new oil fields broke its grip. Carnegie Steel: Government intervention. The federal government imposed steep tariffs on imported steel, shielding domestic producers like Carnegie from foreign competition. Without those tariffs, cheaper British/German steel would have kept Carnegie’s dominance in check. Southern Pacific Railroad: Government intervention. The federal government gifted it, through the Pacific Railroad Acts, millions of acres and subsidized loans. This state-sponsored land monopoly let it block competitors from critical routes.
- dd36 2y agoGoogle. Microsoft. Facebook. If it weren’t for antitrust, there’d be a lot fewer cell phone companies or airlines. I mean, it’s harder to name an industry where there hasn’t been consolidation. The only thing stopping it is the law. Consolidation was basically illegal until the 1980s. If you wanted to grow, you had to compete.
- olalonde 2y agoWrong. Also, none of the companies you listed are monopolies.