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More on the negative consequences of monopolistic pricing
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dave, <br />as an example of why people hate government interference in their lives... <br /> <br />let's imagine an issue is brought forward for discussion. let's suppose the topic is rail rates and their effect on grain prices in montana. a panel is appointed consisting of a professional grain trader, a railroad employee, several railroad executives, a long time industry observer / commentator and a government representative. <br /> <br />now the government representative puts forward a question for consideration and one by one all of the men who have worked in the industry and made solving the day to day problems of the industry their life's work express the opinion that there is not only no problem but that fixing this non problem will cause more problems and in fact will work an injustice on one segment of the constituency for the unfair benefit of another segment of the constituency. now just suppose that this is not the testimony that the government fellow wants to hear. maybe he has an agenda or a pet project in mind, so he avoids answering specific objections to his "evidence", he resubmits evidence which has been contradicted both by the other committee members and even by himself and he keeps the process going until every one is sick and tired of the whole thing. <br /> <br />the next step is to go to a legislative sponsor (also a stockholder in a trucking firm) and have him reconstitute the committee with four government employees (all political appointees of the sponsor), two farmers (from the legislator's district) and one woman whose husband was killed by a train at a grade crossing. then a seven to zip majority passes a self contradictary regulation which is based on weak data, contrived evidence and the milk of human kindness. democracy in action. will of the people. <br /> <br />gee, we're that committee!!! <br /> <br />p.s: montana has simply awful location. my god, dave, look at the map. montana's wheat is on the back side of nowhere. i "figger" that there are very few mills or ports that don't draw wheat from closer to themselves than the montana crop. <br />very few.... and it is worth noting, each of montana's big four mills is on bnsf. <br /> <br />works for them.
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