Inside the corporate dash to buy up dentists’ offices, vet clinics and pharmacies

[5.4MarkVIII]

I am getting the point. Buying up the competition is dirty pool as far as the consumer is concerned. it's been going on for milenia. Look at DeBeers and their strangle hold on diamonds. Surely Walmart, Amazon and all other behemoths are dirty dealing to some degree. I don't like it, you don't like it, the consumers are either ignorant or don't like it.

We're not operating in a free market, we're pretty damn close to socialism, especially when considering 50% of your earnings goes to taxation.

Bailing out GM and other large employers is socialism and vote buying. The problem being the political cycle that moves like this make is about half of the economic cycle it takes for those bad decisions to bear rotten fruit. Enter another round of vote buying and regulation.

In ideal circumstances the markets would self correct and punish monopolies. In a truly free market, monopolies would die a natural death. In a free market if the blacksmith bought the competition, another would spring up to seize market share. The monopolist could not continue to buy out competition into perpetuity unless competition was stifled (regulation). Look at taxi's versus Uber. The regulators and regulated taxi drivers both object but for different reasons. Regulators revenue is threatened (revenue gained without adding value). Taxi drivers now having to compete with a lower cost alternative, lower cost in part via no regulations or fees. In a truly free market taxi's should die and ride share prevail unless taxi cost of doing business drops to competitive rates.

Back to my point, which is that is monopolies exist its because governments allow or encourage it to meet their own ends.

So yes I completely agree this isn't free markets, we've just taken different routes to reach the same conclusion. I choose to blame regulators, not those who take advantage of crooked and malleable regulators.

I get you. We are saying the same thing just different.

Off topic but similar discussion I think. There was an article I’ll try and find discussing a pilot test on a 4 day work week. It looks as though the UK government is footing the bill for work day number 5 for the test.

[92redragtop]

I’d love to see an established definition where corrupt business to business or business to government relationships equal free market.

Maybe that can be found in an alt right econ textbook or on Tucker Carlson's show.

[ChickenLips]

Maybe that can be found in an alt right econ textbook or on Tucker Carlson's show.

what is the purpose of your post? How does alt right or Tucker Carlson enter into the discussion?

[92redragtop]

what is the purpose of your post? How does alt right or Tucker Carlson enter into the discussion?

Just considering where certain versions of economics definitions are coming from - never seen it in a micro/macro textbook so it must be located at some other angle/location (if there is no textbook).

[5.4MarkVIII]

Just considering where certain versions of economics definitions are coming from - never seen it in a micro/macro textbook so it must be located at some other angle/location (if there is no textbook).

Show me the text book that defines free market as government intervention and/or big business back room deals with other big business?

Is everything you disagree with racist or conspiracy?

Did you one time not complain about a certain former president and his iffy business practices? Are you now saying that is what free market is?
Do you think free market is bad?
What would you like to see in its place?

[ChickenLips]

Just considering where certain versions of economics definitions are coming from - never seen it in a micro/macro textbook so it must be located at some other angle/location (if there is no textbook).

how does that relate to alt right or Tucker Carlson? For that matter why are those two grouped?

[RedSN]

This thread takes the prize. Not 10 posts in and it went sideways, and you guys are arguing the SAME SIDE OF THE COIN.

[92redragtop]

But what if the coin is made up?

[92redragtop]

how does that relate to alt right or Tucker Carlson? For that matter why are those two grouped?

Both are fairy tales (ie. that version of "economics").

[92redragtop]

LOL, OK I'm out or the frequent refreshing on new posts will BF this. Prefer to leave it here as FYI for consumers in a free market environment to vote with their dollars/feet (or not) once armed with information.