Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Mainstream Politics and Economics -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bread Upon The Water who wrote (49861)	8/1/2013 7:44:10 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 85487

They more or less controlled multiple congressman and employed large staffs of lawyers to assist them in writing favorable laws to themselves and or their companies. You had people doing that as well, and you almost always will have that when government gets itself heavily involved in the economy. But 1 - If politicians are going to give out benefits and favorable laws, I blame them first, and those asking for the favors only 2nd, its a problem of government action more than anything else. 2 - Many so called "robber barrons" and monopolies or dominate companies of the time primarily got wealthy through lower prices, or otherwise out competing their rivals. For example standard oil became dominant and maintained a declining dominance by lowering prices again and again. If government thru anti-monopoly legislation (first starting with Teddy Roosevelt) Anti-monopoly legislation doesn't stop corruption and rent-seeking and in fact is a new tool for the corrupt to use. ad not broken them up into smaller companies that competed with each other, then today their would probably be only one or two companies representing each industry. The trend was in the other direction. For example standard oil's refining market share decline from 90 percent in 1880 to under 65% by the time it was broken up. Standard Oil was neither a protected nor a natural monopoly. It dominated because it executed better and was more efficiently structured. Other companies took its ideas and started to become more competitive, and also the oil market grew faster than Standard's ability to keep up.