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Economic Termites: Monopolies not noticeable enough for most of us

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Re: Economic Termites: Monopolies not noticeable enough for most of us

#11

Post by silverquiet »

spicyusername wrote: post #6

I very much agree with the premise that economists unduly focus on a few metrics of dubious quality - labor force participation, personal consumption expenditures, market capitalization, wage growth, etc - and overfit them to construct a coherent narrative about the "strength" of the economy and what the experience of living in that economy must be like. There's a story right now being peddled by all the talking head…

I agree with much of this and I'll add one of my biggest stressors - opaque pricing. One of the biggest "innovations" in the US in the last decade or so seems to be to add as many hidden fees as possible to every service imaginable. Obviously it's hardly a new idea; I'm sure that human nature being what it is, they had to deal with it in Mesopotamia. But it makes budgeting very difficult; I suppose it's like living in a corrupt country; you just have to add an overhead for bribes as part of day-to-day living. Perhaps it isn't "like" living in a corrupt country; perhaps it just is living in a corrupt country.

Re: Economic Termites: Monopolies not noticeable enough for most of us

#12

Post by passwordoops »

VincentEvans wrote: post #10
passwordoops wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hear this a lot whenever antitrust is brought up. Do you have concrete examples of how, say, the DMV or Kansas Board of Consumer Welfare costs society more that, say, UnitedHealth's price gouging, Microsoft's SaaS, or Google and Apple's backdoor deals with Apple or Amazon's practices?

Haha, DMV… I just moved to North Carolina, and the next available appointment at the DMV to change the address on my driver license is in September (it’s beginning of June as I am writing this). When I moved the last time in a different state - the appointment to change my address on my driver license was same week and took about 15 mins, most of which I spent trying to get a decent picture. So I “know” it doesn’t ta…

Ever try to reach Google customer support?

Re: Economic Termites: Monopolies not noticeable enough for most of us

#13

Post by Closi »

VincentEvans wrote: post #10
passwordoops wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hear this a lot whenever antitrust is brought up. Do you have concrete examples of how, say, the DMV or Kansas Board of Consumer Welfare costs society more that, say, UnitedHealth's price gouging, Microsoft's SaaS, or Google and Apple's backdoor deals with Apple or Amazon's practices?

Haha, DMV… I just moved to North Carolina, and the next available appointment at the DMV to change the address on my driver license is in September (it’s beginning of June as I am writing this). When I moved the last time in a different state - the appointment to change my address on my driver license was same week and took about 15 mins, most of which I spent trying to get a decent picture. So I “know” it doesn’t ta…

Doesnt that likely demonstrate insufficient resource/capacity rather than OPs point that there are too many bureaucrats?

Re: Economic Termites: Monopolies not noticeable enough for most of us

#14

Post by raizer88 »

spicyusername wrote: post #6

I very much agree with the premise that economists unduly focus on a few metrics of dubious quality - labor force participation, personal consumption expenditures, market capitalization, wage growth, etc - and overfit them to construct a coherent narrative about the "strength" of the economy and what the experience of living in that economy must be like. There's a story right now being peddled by all the talking head…

"The thing I have noticed is when the anecdotes and the data disagree, the anecdotes are usually right. There's something wrong with the way you are measuring it," - Jeff Bezos

Re: Economic Termites: Monopolies not noticeable enough for most of us

#15

Post by jrmg »

VincentEvans wrote: post #10
passwordoops wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hear this a lot whenever antitrust is brought up. Do you have concrete examples of how, say, the DMV or Kansas Board of Consumer Welfare costs society more that, say, UnitedHealth's price gouging, Microsoft's SaaS, or Google and Apple's backdoor deals with Apple or Amazon's practices?

Haha, DMV… I just moved to North Carolina, and the next available appointment at the DMV to change the address on my driver license is in September (it’s beginning of June as I am writing this). When I moved the last time in a different state - the appointment to change my address on my driver license was same week and took about 15 mins, most of which I spent trying to get a decent picture. So I “know” it doesn’t ta…

You can just go to the NC DMV in the afternoon. Afternoons are not appointment based. I updated my license two days after moving here. I had to wait an hour or so.

Re: Economic Termites: Monopolies not noticeable enough for most of us

#16

Post by sneak »

passwordoops wrote: post #4
baggy_trough wrote: post #2

The provided examples don't hold a candle to the termite-gnawing power of the armies of government bureaucrats and lawyers that are the real source of the cost explosion.

I hear this a lot whenever antitrust is brought up. Do you have concrete examples of how, say, the DMV or Kansas Board of Consumer Welfare costs society more that, say, UnitedHealth's price gouging, Microsoft's SaaS, or Google and Apple's backdoor deals with Apple or Amazon's practices?

How about the wars the US is fighting directly in 13 different sovereign countries presently? That’s gotta be slightly costly.

Re: Economic Termites: Monopolies not noticeable enough for most of us

#17

Post by luckylion »

passwordoops wrote: post #4
baggy_trough wrote: post #2

The provided examples don't hold a candle to the termite-gnawing power of the armies of government bureaucrats and lawyers that are the real source of the cost explosion.

I hear this a lot whenever antitrust is brought up. Do you have concrete examples of how, say, the DMV or Kansas Board of Consumer Welfare costs society more that, say, UnitedHealth's price gouging, Microsoft's SaaS, or Google and Apple's backdoor deals with Apple or Amazon's practices?

Some DMV would be a part of the government, it wouldn't be _the_ government. To not build up a straw man, you'd have to compare it to, say, Apple's battery quality control department or Amazon's warehouse maintenance team.

Re: Economic Termites: Monopolies not noticeable enough for most of us

#18

Post by michaelt »

Closi wrote: post #13
VincentEvans wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Haha, DMV… I just moved to North Carolina, and the next available appointment at the DMV to change the address on my driver license is in September (it’s beginning of June as I am writing this). When I moved the last time in a different state - the appointment to change my address on my driver license was same week and took about 15 mins, most of which I spent trying to get a decent picture. So I “know” it doesn’t ta…

Doesnt that likely demonstrate insufficient resource/capacity rather than OPs point that there are too many bureaucrats?

In my country, you wouldn’t need an in person ‘appointment’ to merely change an address on a driving license.

Seems rather inefficient to have offices all over the state, appointments, inefficiencies like missed appointments, and the waste of citizens’ time, for a process that can be done by mail.

Re: Economic Termites: Monopolies not noticeable enough for most of us

#19

Post by Fauntleroy »

spicyusername wrote: post #6

I very much agree with the premise that economists unduly focus on a few metrics of dubious quality - labor force participation, personal consumption expenditures, market capitalization, wage growth, etc - and overfit them to construct a coherent narrative about the "strength" of the economy and what the experience of living in that economy must be like. There's a story right now being peddled by all the talking head…

Those at the top of the chain, who benefit from the "strong" economy, have an intrinsic motivation to suggest that things are going just great. Many in Washington are either suckling the teats of the wealthy through campaign finance / lobbying, or hyper-rich from investments (and other forms of economic parasitism)—providing a great deal of motivation for decision makers in US government to not give a shit.

Re: Economic Termites: Monopolies not noticeable enough for most of us

#20

Post by phkahler »

silverquiet wrote: post #11
spicyusername wrote: post #6

I very much agree with the premise that economists unduly focus on a few metrics of dubious quality - labor force participation, personal consumption expenditures, market capitalization, wage growth, etc - and overfit them to construct a coherent narrative about the "strength" of the economy and what the experience of living in that economy must be like. There's a story right now being peddled by all the talking head…

I agree with much of this and I'll add one of my biggest stressors - opaque pricing. One of the biggest "innovations" in the US in the last decade or so seems to be to add as many hidden fees as possible to every service imaginable. Obviously it's hardly a new idea; I'm sure that human nature being what it is, they had to deal with it in Mesopotamia. But it makes budgeting very difficult; I suppose it's like living i…

>> I'll add one of my biggest stressors - opaque pricing.

Economic "models" make assumptions like markets being efficient. Meanwhile in the business classes next door they teach how to avoid competition because it's a race to the bottom. They all learn the prisoners dilemma as an example because it's how you need to think to avoid overt collusion.

I'd like an economic model as powerful as the laws of thermodynamics, where everything is included if not explicitly. But I haven't seen one.

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