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As private equity dominates wheelchair market, users wait months for repairs

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Re: As private equity dominates wheelchair market, users wait months for repairs

#11

Post by ars »

7thaccount wrote: post #4
tonetheman wrote: post #2

What you would expect from private equity sadly. Destroyers of value.

Private Equity really is a pox on society. One reason they may not be able to hire is that they paid a ton to buy out all the competition and now have a bunch of investors wanting to see high rates of return. That requires cutting staff and raising prices. I'm all for a free society that allows private parties to make agreements, but PE is by definition all about breaking markets by creating a monopoly where they hav…

> Private Equity really is a pox on society.

Every single non-public business is "Private Equity". How is every single small business in the entire world "a pox on society"?

Perhaps you mean "short term thinking" is a pox on society? Or in, like in this case, a duopoly is the issue? If there were 10 such companies a reputation for slow repair would drive people to other suppliers and things would rapidly get better.

Re: As private equity dominates wheelchair market, users wait months for repairs

#12

Post by ars »

readyman wrote: post #7
Rinzler89 wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But, but...muh free market capitalism always leads to the best products supply for the demand...or so we've been told.

Capitalism works perfectly if you just ignore all the inevitable disasterous consequences and outright failures.

And your better alternative is........... ?

Re: As private equity dominates wheelchair market, users wait months for repairs

#14

Post by ars »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #9

What's the barrier to entry?

Regulation.

This is one of the market failures caused by excessive regulation.

To make a chair you requires so much paperwork that only a small number of business can do it.

I especially like the regulations that make sure only those who need the chair get it, to reduce medical costs, but in the process all the paperwork dramatically drives up the costs.

Re: As private equity dominates wheelchair market, users wait months for repairs

#15

Post by IncreasePosts »

tonetheman wrote: post #2

What you would expect from private equity sadly. Destroyers of value.

Well, a private equity firm owned the wheelchair company for a decade. It was only when a different PE firm came in that the service allegedly declined.

Re: As private equity dominates wheelchair market, users wait months for repairs

#16

Post by mistermann »

Rinzler89 wrote: post #3
tonetheman wrote: post #2

What you would expect from private equity sadly. Destroyers of value.

But, but...muh free market capitalism always leads to the best products supply for the demand...or so we've been told.

It is the job of government to regulate and reign in capitalism.

We are also told that democracy is the best form of government, and we are also told that our democracy is genuine, and that it must be protected. For some reason, people are unable to wonder if these various stories are true...perhaps because that skill is not innate, and is not taught in school?

Re: As private equity dominates wheelchair market, users wait months for repairs

#18

Post by tdb7893 »

nickff wrote: post #10

Private equity discovered that regulations, compliance requirements, & other similar barriers to entry are the most effective 'moats' which allow businesses to raise prices and have little impact on demand; they are now exploiting this 'hack' ruthlessly.

We've seen consolidation across the whole economy (which have vastly different regulation schemes) so I'm skeptical of it being just regulation driven

Re: As private equity dominates wheelchair market, users wait months for repairs

#19

Post by mistermann »

ars wrote: post #12
readyman wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Capitalism works perfectly if you just ignore all the inevitable disasterous consequences and outright failures.

And your better alternative is........... ?

Capitalism moderated by various systems emerging from a genuine, sophisticated democratic system would be my advice.

We have a lot of work to get from here to there though, and much of it is the undoing of mass psychological condition.

Re: As private equity dominates wheelchair market, users wait months for repairs

#20

Post by tomoyoirl »

Rinzler89 wrote: post #3
tonetheman wrote: post #2

What you would expect from private equity sadly. Destroyers of value.

But, but...muh free market capitalism always leads to the best products supply for the demand...or so we've been told.

No. It’s only efficient when property rights are enforced, barriers to entry are low, and transaction costs are minimal.

Wheelchairs are regulated (barriers to entry), pollution is the nonexistence of property rights, and your take-it-or-leave-it noncompete agreement is a consequence of high transaction costs (job search, legal negotiations).

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