For Big Business, monopoly isn't just a game

There are de facto monopolies in every sector of our economy. There’s no law against being a monopoly. But our free market capitalism’s driving principle is honest competition, while the corporate goal is being the most profitable, and ultimately the only corporation in its sector, thus with no competition.

The most direct and usually illegal way to accomplish this is to eliminate the competition. And that is what is being done. The largest and most influential corporations are growing in gigantic steps by either buying out or merging with current and potential competitors. The concept of competitive pricing and wages is now just that: a concept –not a reality.

The Federal Trade Commission was established in 1914 to establish the laws and regulations necessary for the oversight and law enforcement of corporations. Since that time, Big Business has worked ceaselessly to reduce the FTC’s power, spending millions upon millions of dollars on congressional lobbying.

And they’ve been effective. The standard of evidence now is so high it’s almost impossible for the FTC to file a suit for wrong-doing or block anti-competitive mergers/acquisitions.

Right now there’s a pending merger that would adversely affect nearly every U.S. citizen. Kroger wants to merge with Albertsons. Kroger has the monopoly for the Eastern U.S. and Albertsons has the monopoly for the Western U.S.

In 2022, Kroger agreed to purchase Albertsons for $24.6 billion. Since then, Kroger has spent $864 million in efforts to make the deal acceptable to the FTC, but the deal’s not sealed yet.

On Aug. 24 this year, the FTC began antitrust proceedings against Kroger in a Portland, Oregon federal court to block this merger. I don’t know what Kroger’s’ defense might be, but arguing that the merger would not decrease competition would be laughable, if the situation weren’t so serious. Shooting this merger down should mark the beginning of our era of trust busting.

Unless you’re a whistle blower, there’s not much you, as an individual, can do to combat the ever increasing dominance of these monopolies. But there is a decisive action we all can take: vote for the Democratic Party candidates, whose first concern is for the well-being of all us citizens, not Big Business.

John H. Terrell