Canada has a monopoly problem. How did we get here? And how do we get out? Let’s bring home competition

  • enkers@sh.itjust.works
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    7 months ago

    I particularly laughed at the line about an economy without competition no longer being capitalism. Like, no, this is just the natural progression of unfettered capitalism. If it’s not capitalism what do they think it is? The line almost seemed like “anything I don’t like is socialism/communism” dogwhistle.

    If we want to actually drive competition, there are a few ways:

    1. State run alternatives.

    You know what Canadian province had the most competitive telephone market? Saskatchewan. That’s because they have a government run telecom (Sasktel) that doesn’t operate on a for profit model.

    1. Antitrust laws with teeth.

    Penalties for anti-competitive behaviour need to be big enough that they’re not just a cost of doing business. If you get caught price fixing, the fine should be so high that you never, ever consider doing it again. Jail time for CEOs should be on the table for egregious enough situations.

    1. Abandon the “too big to fail” mentality.

    When we prop up companies with shitty business practices, we’re just encouraging them to fail even harder, because they know they’ll always get bailed out.

    • jadero@lemmy.ca
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      7 months ago

      Anything too big to fail is also too big to care. If they don’t care, why should we? Provide proper supports and retraining for everyone below the c-suite and let 'er rip.