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Want to rescue rural America? Bust monopolies

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Re: Want to rescue rural America? Bust monopolies

#91

Post by shmerl »

zeusk wrote: post #47
cs702 wrote: post #4

"I started a manufacturing company in Little Elm, about 35 miles north of Dallas, to produce the first-ever automatically retracting syringe to eliminate the risk of nurses contracting HIV through accidental needle sticks. The syringe received rave reviews from nurses, hospital executives and public health officials, a major grant from the National Institutes of Health and robust private investment. But when my partn…

What you're describing is a fair market, not a free one.

Free market means free from monopolies as well.

Re: Want to rescue rural America? Bust monopolies

#92

Post by JackFr »

skummetmaelk wrote: post #28
cs702 wrote: post #4

"I started a manufacturing company in Little Elm, about 35 miles north of Dallas, to produce the first-ever automatically retracting syringe to eliminate the risk of nurses contracting HIV through accidental needle sticks. The syringe received rave reviews from nurses, hospital executives and public health officials, a major grant from the National Institutes of Health and robust private investment. But when my partn…

That's the thing though, that is exactly what a late stage "free market" looks like. What you need is a heavily regulated market that prevents exactly this behaviour. People need to stop wishing for the "free" market. The term is abused by orators and manipulators who prey on peoples desire for a market which is free in the spirit of the word, and deliver to them a market which is technically "free" and horrible.

> What you need is a heavily regulated market that prevents exactly this behaviour.

That seems like the opposite of a solution.

For such a system to work one has to believe that that the regulatory apparatus is staffed with monks who are unaffected by the temptations of wealth, power and vanity that other humans are subject to and that 'regulatory capture' isn't a real thing.

Further that the price mechanism as an information channel is worthless, and that corrupting it with noise will have negligable effect on efficiency and technological development will remain at at least the same levels we enjoy now.

Re: Want to rescue rural America? Bust monopolies

#93

Post by [deleted] »

beemanners wrote: post #77
mozumder wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's your point in your false equivalency? Are you implying that the 20 million people that now have medical coverage because of Democrats pushing for Obamacare isn't worth it? Was that all "talk"? I'm seriously trying to understand your "equivalency" position. Let me know what the Republicans would have done for health care? Right now it seems that the only thing they've done is to actually limit universal health…

20M on Obamacare != 20M who have health insurance because of Obamacare. Stop parroting CNN talking points and do your own research.

[deleted]

Re: Want to rescue rural America? Bust monopolies

#94

Post by kartan »

peacetreefrog wrote: post #9

Her two examples, the medical and agriculture sectors, are two of the most regulated industries around. A lot of these "monopolies" result because of regulation pushed by combination of well-meaning and self interested people and corporations (see bootleggers and baptists). Her examples suggest it'd be better to focus on the marriage between corporations and government, which allows companies to focus their energy on…

> "regulations are supported both by groups that want the ostensible purpose of the regulation, and by groups that profit from undermining that purpose." Wikipedia

Yes, we should stop the people that want to undermine the purpose of regulations. Regulations are critical to assure the safety of our medicines and of what we eat. But we need to pay more attention to the abuses, and to separate the well-needed regulations from the abuses pushed by interested parties. But that is true for all the government work, we should stop the interference of a small powerful few so we can get what society, as a whole, needs.

Re: Want to rescue rural America? Bust monopolies

#95

Post by mozumder »

beemanners wrote: post #77
mozumder wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's your point in your false equivalency? Are you implying that the 20 million people that now have medical coverage because of Democrats pushing for Obamacare isn't worth it? Was that all "talk"? I'm seriously trying to understand your "equivalency" position. Let me know what the Republicans would have done for health care? Right now it seems that the only thing they've done is to actually limit universal health…

20M on Obamacare != 20M who have health insurance because of Obamacare. Stop parroting CNN talking points and do your own research.

Since you are a researcher, where is your research published?

I would like to see your peer-reviewed research that you did to come up with your data.

Re: Want to rescue rural America? Bust monopolies

#96

Post by maxerickson »

MichaelBurge wrote: post #61

They need to deregulate the entire medical industry, so anyone can start a medical practice. Right now, doctors control the supply of new medical licenses, and they're incentivized to restrict the supply so their own wages go up. The official line is that they can ensure high-quality medical treatments this way, but that's just something they tell themselves to feel good about it. One of the consequences is that doct…

There's an awful lot of middle ground between what we have now and "anyone can start a medical practice".

Re: Want to rescue rural America? Bust monopolies

#97

Post by IIIIIIIIIIII »

walshemj wrote: post #64
IIIIIIIIIIII wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can speak for a different market in a different country (but I also lived in the US for a decade): IT freelancing in Germany. I get paid well, but there is something really strange going on: I can't get my contracts directly. I always have to go through a company whose sole business it is to be an intermediate between the (large) company that wants to hire a freelancer and the freelancer. Note that those freelancer…

Are there tax reasons as in the UK that make umbrella companies more common?

Not that I'm aware of in the context that my examples are from. They pay for independent(!) freelancer programmers and consultants, should be the same except for having just a single partner instead of many.

Re: Want to rescue rural America? Bust monopolies

#98

Post by Pica_soO »

aaronbrethorst wrote: post #23
jessaustin wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This really opened my eye: a long time ago, there was actually a meaningful difference between voting D and voting R. I can't really imagine voting in such a context, but it sounds nice...

How can you call LGBT rights, women's rights, police consent decrees, environmental issues, and health care, just off the top of my head, meaningless?

Because they are, in the big picture? If everyone starves and we get a 50 sexes bathroom- nobod(he/she/it) gives a shit.

Re: Want to rescue rural America? Bust monopolies

#99

Post by heyoni »

costcopizza wrote: post #80

Drive through many American small towns and it looks the exact same. A strip mall with a Subway, a couple national fast food joints, and if you're big enough, Wal-Mart. There are literally 1000s of towns with this copy and paste setup-- how could this not be detrimental when money is going to a huge corporation every time?

Object-oriented economy. Rather than reusing code, we reuse business plans!
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