Monopoly/Anti-trust Condition: If the government wishes to involve itself in anti-trust activities, to protect the “common man” from exploitive and greedy monopolists, I would like them to puruse this idea to its logical conclusion, and to do it aggressively and consistenly. While this is going on, I might be taking a vacation in a place far away. So here is a sampling of what I mean:
(by the way, I understand that “real” anti-trust law is more nuanced than I am making it out to be, but that does not alter the logical problems with it)
There are many other conditions, these are just a few samples. Have a lovely weekend.
Back in Economics 101, it seemed to me that nearly all of what we were taught was about the gap between “perfect” competition and both monopolistic competition and oligopolistic competition. The professor would draw the graph showing a big gap showing how we were all cheated by the monopolists.
In retrospect, Samuelson and the economics department were speaking to a future generation of regulators and antitrust lawyers, who were going to learn how to quantify that gap, I assume in Econ 433.
Meantime, on the parkway south of town, we had a gas war going on, with regular fetching $19 per gallon. (OK, that was dollars back then, but even assuming the government has debased the currency by a factor of 10, that would still be $1.90 for regular.)
I remember raising my hand and asking if ologopolists had such power, how come you could buy a gallon of gas for six cents less than eight chocolate donuts at the thrift store, which was the only other item I could think of.
I do not remember the answer to the question, but I am sure it was not answered for me. Back then, I knew hardly anything, and was not about to challenge the premises of the college’s economics department, let alone my professor.
Perhaps it would be time for departments of economics to devote less time on the evils of trusts and Standard Oil, and more on the economics of rent-seeking from the state, and the relative benefits between freedom and state control of our lives.
Correction: I meant $.19 per gallon. Does missing a few decimal points to the left qualify me for a Czar job?
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