Break 'Em Up: Recovering Our Freedom From Big Ag, Big Tech, and Big Money by Zephyr Teachout, 2020
"[We need] a grassroots, bottom-up movement that understands the challenge in front of us, and then organizes against monopoly power in communities across this country. This book is a blueprint for that organizing."
―From the foreword by Bernie Sanders.
One of the ways (metaphorically) of thinking about the likely impact of privatising healthcare in the UK is to look at how the market for veterinary services has worked.
Confirming the view of most pet owners I know (including myself) the Competition & Markets Authority has launched an investigation into overcharging for pet healthcare, including medicines.
As the sector is essentially a quasi oligopoly, it will be interning to see if the CMA demands a break up?
✉️ After self-hosting my email for twenty-three years I have thrown in the towel. The oligopoly has won.
ᐅ Carlos Fenollosa
「 Unfortunately, the computing power required to filter millions of emails per minute is huge. That's why the email industry has chosen a shortcut to reduce that cost.
The shortcut is to avoid processing some email altogether 」
More #greedflation (this time in #babyformula#milk products) in a market dominates by twi firms (who have 85% of the market)
Once again this demonstrates the problem the UK has with #oligopoly and while #antitrust & #competition regulation may seem complex & arcane to most #voters, actually such regulation has real world impact when lax, badly enforced or loosely legislated - the UK needs to strengthen the Competition & Markets Authority and empower it to work better!
"#Australia's government would be collecting $70 billion a year in revenue if the #emissions trading scheme was still in place, economist Ross #Garnaut says.
The problems at Qantas, and the explosion in executive remuneration this century, reflect a much more general problem in our economy, he adds.
And Australians have been "in denial" about increasing #oligopoly in the #economy."
#WritersCoffeeClub Sept 2: On a scale of plotter to pantser, what are you?
Fwiw, I Ike GRRM's metaphor better: architects and gardeners. Anyway, I start with a concept and then let myself discover as I go. Once/if I find something interesting, I write down outlines and character sketches, but they're mostly a record of what I found than they are a plan that I intend to follow. Basically, I plan to wander.
The closest I've gotten to it getting a somewhat encouraging rejection letter from an agent, so my biggest beef with the industry is #oligopoly. There are effectively five (four now?) publishing corporations and a shockingly small number of people deciding what goes on the shelves at one of three(?) big-box bookstores. I mean, no wonder so many people self-publish!
RT Cory Doctorow @pluralistic Red Team Blues: Why doesn't the #IRS just send you a tax-return? Well, because the tax-prep industry - an #oligopoly dominated by a handful of massive, ultra-profitable firms - bribes Congress (that is, "lobbies") to prohibit this.
I'm defending #supermarkets as their ability to maintain an #oligopoly over much of the #food market has had a clear detrimental impact on the UK social-economy, but, quoting profits in £ & then complaining they're profiteering misunderstands the size of these firms
They may be be manipulating the market to their ends, but their profit margins (remaining below 5%) are not out-of-line with 'normal profits
The #LibDems should focus on the manipulation, not the profits!