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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (516660)	10/25/2012 11:00:59 AM
From: J.B.C.	4 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 794012

All large monopolies are just one small nimble company away from extinction.

To: LindyBill who wrote (516660)	10/25/2012 11:23:04 AM
From: i-node	2 Recommendations Respond to of 794012

I understand the argument, and pretty consistently come down on the side of free trade. I'm currently re-reading Milton Friedman's classic, Capitalism and Freedom, in which he addressed the subject of monopoly, taking into consider the available alternatives. I think he ended up believing the markets do a better job, but it is an arguable point (I think for a time he was conflicted about it himself). The market took out the aforementioned Borland because it was the weaker company and couldn't withstand MSFT's onslaught; the consumer plainly suffered. My brother owns a fast food business started by my dad in 1961. For many years, we thought McD. or BK showing up would kill it. Well, they've all come, and he's still doing 2 Million a year in a run down 50 year old building because, quite simply, he has always had the best product. But in some businesses, where the cost of entry is high, it is to the consumer's detriment. An example is the recent merger of XM and Sirius satellite radio, where the consumer was clearly injured by it (at least clearly, imo) -- the service is lousy, choice is reduced, and prices are higher post-merger. And there is no real chance of any competitor coming into the business now. I would say it is hard to generalize but there are legitimate arguments on both sides. While I'm very much into free markets, there are times when they just don't function well. I'm not sure that government intervention is a good solution, particularly.