LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
economic liberties, democratic accountability, and the welfare of workers, farmers, small businesses, startups, and consumers, tinkers, tailors, soldiers, sailors, rich men, poor men, beggar men, thieves.” (Although I can’t absolutely swear that last part was in there, especially the mention of “rich men.” But I was already drifting off even though this was the first sentence of the executive order. I had to go get myself some coffee and a law degree from Yale to keep going.) The fix for Biden’s broad definition of market concentration is to limit free-market freedoms in order to make the free market more free. This is paradoxical... or maybe just stupid. To give Joe his due, he does put his finger on some marketplace annoyances – prescription drug prices higher than the cost of a good funeral, giant bloated fatso tech companies that squash and suffocate anyone who tries to sit on the Internet couch, and small farmers buying the farm as Big Ag runs over them with a grim reaper (that can only be serviced by a factory-authorized dealer). The problem with what Joe puts his finger on is that it’s a government finger. And we all know which finger the government gives us ... No doubt there’s unfairness in agriculture, but no business sector in America has experienced more interference from government than farming – dating back to the squalid federal auctions, to land speculators of territories won from Britain in the Revolutionary War. There’s not a single cow pie in the history of the nation that the government hasn’t stepped in.
Do we really trust government to outsmart Big Pharma on drug prices? Just wait until your next visit to Walgreens... “That will be $3 for the heart medication and $225.99 for the Tylenol.” And “net neutrality” sounds like a nice idea. But which federal department, regulatory agency, congressional committee, or presidential commission will decide what’s “neutral”? Remember who runs the post office. If we’re not careful, we could wind up getting all our e-mail, social media posts, and TV streaming services delivered once a day, except on Sundays and national holidays, at a cost of 55 cents each. In his presidential decree, Biden orders “promoting competition within industries through the independent oversight of mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures.” (My italics.) Independent of what ? Not independent of politics, I bet. So, if you’re doing any merger and acquisition activity, you’ll not only have to pay a huge fee to an investment bank, but you’ll also have to make a huge donation to whatever political party happens to be in power. Joe orders airlines to provide “improved service.” (My suggestion? Order all the passengers off the plane. Service will improve – for the flight crews.) Joe orders the Defense Department to look and see if there’s enough competition among defense contractors. (Maybe we could buy missiles from Hamas. They seem to have an excess of them in Gaza.) Joe orders hearing aids to be cheaper. (YOU SAID CHEAPER HEARING AIDS, JOE.)
8
August 2021
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online