How Government regulation allows Businesses to maximize profits at our expense

[rasilio]

Source Article here

Comments

[mijopo]

Now of course the typical leftie out there will call this a market failure and an example of why we cannot trust the free market because of corporate greed like this.

I'm a pretty typical leftie and that's not what I said:

http://community.livejournal.com/talk_politics/923582.html?thread=71101118#t71101118

[gunslnger]

I don't know why you'd like to think you're a typical leftie, but you aren't actually.

[mrsilence]

If you're judging by that comment, I have to say that's fairly consistent to my position too, particularly the part about government endorsed monopolies with no price controls.

Maybe I'm not a typical lefty either, but I think a goodly proportion of lefties would not violently disagree with that particular statement.

[terminator44]

How would price controls make it better? That would just lead to a shortage like price controls always have.

[mrsilence]

I personally don't support patents at all, but I'm open to the idea that a monopoly with price controls might be better in some respects than the monopoly a patent creates.

On that point, I thought the problem mostly arose when the set price became unprofitable? If there is still money to be made at the regulated price, wouldn't that obviate the incentive to deliberately decrease supply?

[mahnmut]

How does the 'typical' leftie look like?

[gunslnger]

I'll go with what Dave Barry wrote:
godless unpatriotic pierced-nose Volvo-driving France-loving left-wing communist latte-sucking tofu-chomping holistic-wacko neurotic vegan weenie perverts
http://www.adammessinger.com/2004/12/13/barry-heals-nation

[mahnmut]

Narrow stereotypes FTW, yo! I don't see one person fitting that.

[gunslnger]

You do know who Dave Barry is, right?

[mahnmut]

Do you know who Pieter-Dirk Uys is?

[gunslnger]

That's no excuse. :P

[mahnmut]

So: no?