Why everything costs more (and sucks)

It's the same pattern, over and over again:

1) Government identifies some “problem” in a functioning market (e.g., healthcare, housing, education).

2) It intervenes with regulations or controls to “fix” the perceived problem: price caps, mandates, subsidies, zoning laws, rent control, etc.

3) Unintended consequences follow: reduced supply, rising prices, and declining quality.

4) Instead of reversing the intervention, the idiot government piles on more regulation and subsidizes demand, worsening the problem.

5) Prices keep climbing, driven by inflated demand (via subsidies) and restricted supply (via regulation).

6) Politicians then declare: "Capitalism has failed."

 

[KingLeo]

Something you failed to account for in capitalist markets are monopolies.
Something which only the government can get involved with to offset.

Monopolies pose significant problems for capitalist markets by hindering competition, limiting consumer choice, and potentially stifling innovation. They can lead to higher prices, reduced quality, and a less dynamic market environment. While some argue that monopolies can be a natural outcome of competition and offer efficiencies, concerns remain about their potential to distort market outcomes and concentrate wealth and power.

Elaboration:

• Reduced Competition:
  Monopolies, by definition, have a dominant position with little or no competition, allowing them to set prices and quality without significant market pressure.
  • Limited Consumer Choice:
    Without competition, consumers have fewer options, potentially leading to lower-quality products or services at higher prices.
    
    
  • Stifled Innovation:
    Monopolies may have less incentive to innovate, as they don't need to compete with others to gain market share or improve offerings.
    
    
  • Price Manipulation:
    Monopolies can exploit their market power to raise prices and increase profits, potentially harming consumers.
    
    
  • Inefficiency and Waste:
    The lack of competition can lead to less efficient resource allocation and potential waste within the monopoly's operations.
    
    
  • Concentration of Wealth and Power:
    Monopolies can contribute to the concentration of wealth and power within a few entities, potentially undermining the fairness and stability of the market.
    
    
  • Antitrust Laws and Regulation:
    To address these issues, governments often enact antitrust laws and regulations to limit the growth and power of monopolies, promoting competition and protecting consumer interests.

 

[aociswundumho]

Something you failed to account for in capitalist markets are monopolies.

I love the fact that you leftists are using AI more and more in political debates.

Let's ask AI a question about monopolies:

What percentage of monopolies and oligopolies that exist today are because of government laws and regulations?

There’s no precise percentage, but a large share—arguably the majority—of today’s monopolies and oligopolies exist or persist because of government involvement. Here’s why:

• Licensing, compliance costs, zoning, and complex rules disproportionately hurt small or new competitors.
• Example: Airlines, telecom, finance, healthcare.
• Big firms are “too big to fail,” so they get rescued—locking in dominance.
• Example: Wall Street banks post-2008.
• Can grant long-term monopolies (sometimes justified, but often abused).
• Example: Pharmaceuticals, tech.
• Government agencies partner with a few firms to control an industry.
• Example: Military contractors, education accreditation, ag subsidies.
• Limit the number of providers.
• Example: Taxi medallions, utility markets, cable providers.

What the Research Suggests​

• A 2019 paper from the Stigler Center at UChicago concluded that most modern U.S. market concentration is “at least partially sustained by regulation, subsidies, or political favoritism.”
• Economists like Thomas DiLorenzo and Milton Friedman have long argued that monopolies that persist over time almost always have government protection.

Bottom Line:​

There’s no hard number, but a reasonable estimate is that most of the enduring monopolies and oligopolies—probably over 70%—owe their power to state protection, not market forces.

The free market tends to erode monopolies. The regulated market tends to cement them.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[KingLeo]

I love the fact that you leftists are using AI more and more in political debates.

Let's ask AI a question about monopolies:





Couldn't have said it better myself.

Does not negate the fact that to combat monopolies government regulations are the only means.
And in unregulated capitalist economies monopolies are a given.

 

[Stealers Wheel]

It's the same pattern, over and over again:

1) Government identifies some “problem” in a functioning market (e.g., healthcare, housing, education).

2) It intervenes with regulations or controls to “fix” the perceived problem: price caps, mandates, subsidies, zoning laws, rent control, etc.

3) Unintended consequences follow: reduced supply, rising prices, and declining quality.

4) Instead of reversing the intervention, the idiot government piles on more regulation and subsidizes demand, worsening the problem.

5) Prices keep climbing, driven by inflated demand (via subsidies) and restricted supply (via regulation).

6) Politicians then declare: "Capitalism has failed."

We have regulations and laws for one reason, and one reason only.

PEOPLE WILL NOT DO THE RIGHT THING ON THEIR OWN.

 

[aociswundumho]

PEOPLE WILL NOT DO THE RIGHT THING ON THEIR OWN.

Last time I checked, politicians and government regulators were people too.

 

[Stealers Wheel]

Last time I checked, politicians and government regulators were people too.

And that's why we have laws and regulations.

Of course, you believe than ANYONE should be allowed to practice medicine with no government oversight whatsoever. You believe that enforceable building codes are an abomination. You believe that labor unions and collective bargaining is the worst thing that ever happened to the working man.

Tell me, have you ever known of any law or regulation that you liked?

 

[aociswundumho]

And that's why we have laws and regulations.

Regulations primarily benefit the lobbyists who wrote them. You said "people will not do the right thing on their own". Do you believe lobbyists and regulators who are in bed together are doing the "right thing"?

Of course, you believe than ANYONE should be allowed to practice medicine with no government oversight whatsoever.

It's your body. If you want healthcare from someone who has no medical training, how is that anyone else's business?

You believe that enforceable building codes are an abomination.

They are, because they are entirely subjective, which nobody denies. I'll be starting a new thread on them soon clearly demonstrating the immense damage they cause.

You believe that labor unions and collective bargaining is the worst thing that ever happened to the working man.

Yes, workers outside of the labor cartel are harmed, as are consumers, as are the companies who have their labor supply monopolized by union thugs.

Tell me, have you ever known of any law or regulation that you liked?

Of course. I support any law which protects individual rights. The first, second, and fourth amendments, or any laws which protect private property (not IP, which is a legal fiction).